The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is set to introduce stringent guidelines for pre-flight and post-flight alcohol testing for pilots and crew of airlines. It has reason to.

Official records, available with The Sunday Express show:

• Last year, 24 pilots and cabin crew members of Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Sahara tested positive when they were subjected to random alcometer tests minutes before they boarded their flights.

(Alcometer tests measure alcohol levels in the blood by analysing breath samples. As per existing norms, all pilots and cabin crew are expected not to consume alcohol 12 hours before boarding a flight and that if put through a alcometer test, should show a ‘‘zero’’ reading If the first reading is positive, a second reading is taken within 15 minutes after a mouthwash in the presence of a witness.)

• Crew members ‘‘de-rostered’’ or grounded last year for between three to six months (without salary) for testing positive include six pilots: three from Jet and one each from Sahara, Air India and Blue Dart.

• DGCA officials said Jet had the highest number of defaults since they probably conducted the maximum tests.

• In 2004, too, around 25 cabin crew members, including several pilots, were docked for testing positive.

• This year, five cases of default have already been reported: two crew members from Jet Air, one each from Air India, Sahara and Kingfisher Airlines.

Alcometer tests were begun in India after a 1974 Indian Airlines Avro crash which was attributed to the pilot being under the influence of alcohol.

... contd.