Incidents are coming forward of ground staff and airlinecrew reporting drunk for duty in the last few years. Many pilots were caughtbeing drunk abroad as well as in India before their flights were scheduled totake off. Not only pilots but the airline crew members also have been involvedin the same.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Civil Aviationinformed in Lok Sabha on Thursday that in the last 2.5 years, 150 cabin crewmembers and 60 pilots have tested positive after the breathalyzer test.
She added further that 14 pilots and 54 crew members ofdifferent airlines have failed the breathalyzer test in the last six months.
Out of these cases, the pilots and members that have testedpositive for alcohol consumption have been suspended for three months whereas 2pilots and 2 crew members who tested positive for the second time werestraightaway suspended for the next 3 years.
Ajay Devgan starrer film, Runway 34 also raised the sameissue. In the movie, the pilot was accused of consuming alcohol before flyingthe plane but later on, he was proved innocent. In the climax, it showed thatone of the crew members drank alcohol during the flying.
According to the rules laid by the Directorate General ofCivil Aviation, there should be a gap of 12 hours or more than that between theconsumption of alcohol and the take-off time of the flight.
If anyone fails to follow the rule then the accused will geta suspension for 3 months for the first time, 3 years for the second time andcancellation of license if it is repeated the third time.