Taking note of incidents of drunken flying, aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to crack the whip on errant pilots, and is likely to subject them to a mandatory alcohol test prior to every flight, said senior officials.

For a start, the regulator has made it mandatory that pilots be tested for alcohol presence before undertaking any flying, whether commercial or chartered, which has a designed VIP on board.

According to that latest order issued by the DGCA, in case of any accident involving an aircraft, the pilot and co-pilot will be immediately subjected to a medical check- up for the consumption of alcohol. The existing guidelines, which

woefully lacked any effective disciplinary action against drunken pilots, will now be harmonised and made stringent.

“We have decided to adopt zero tolerance policy towards instances of drunk flying. Having received suggestions from various quarters, we are planning to make it mandatory for pilots to undergo alcohol test prior to each flight,” Nasim Zaidi, director-general, DGCA told The Indian Express. As of now, a pilot has to declare that he is fit for flying before operating an aircraft, or in certain cases airlines or the DGCA officials undertake random tests on pilots.

For the first time in the country’s aviation history, the safety regulator has ordered that first time offenders during pre-flight medical check be de-rostered from flying duties for a period of at least four weeks and disciplinary action be taken by the concerned company.

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