Air India ignores crew alcohol rule abroad

Stops breath analyser checks outside India for cost reasons, despite DGCA rule mandating one every 15 days

Since last year, despite a rule mandating a pre-light breath analyser check every 15 days for alcohol in the body, government-owned Air India has almost stopped these for pilots and other crew at foreign airports.

Not coincidentally, not a single AI pilot has been caught drunk on duty at a foreign airport since 2008. But one of the airline's senior captains was at Chennai airport on Friday. So have others in India.

In January 2011, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) amended its rules on pre-flight medical checks. The rules require airlines to conduct these before all domestic flights and after every 15 days at foreign airports. Information accessed under the Right to Information Act shows AI has been flouting DGCA's rule. Aviation experts see this non-adherence as a serious safety violation.

Tipsy on rules

* Pre-flight medical checks by AI

* 2008 New York, Paris, Toronto

* 2009 Tokyo, Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Muscat, Bangkok, New York, Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur

* 2010 Muscat, Bahrain

* 2011 Dubai

Within India, AI’s staff doctors carry out the check at major airports. In other airports, it has hired private doctors to do so. However, it has neither hired doctors abroad and nor is it sending its own doctors to foreign airports to conduct these checks.

The data shows a pre-flight medical was carried out at several airports abroad in 2008-2010. At that time, it was not mandatory for airlines do one every fortnight. But, surprisingly, after DGCA amended the rules, AI did the checks just twice. In 2011, its doctors did the breath analyser check at Dubai in January and June, according to AI’s response to a RTI query. It flies to Europe, America, Canada, China and Japan, apart from various cities in the Gulf. The rules say it should have conducted the checks in all these countries after every 15 days.

An AI spokesperson did not respond to an email query on the subject. Nor did the Indian Pilots Guild, the union representing its pilots. According to airline sources, the cost of hiring private doctors in the US and Canada is prohibitive. “Some doctors quoted a $250-500 charge per flight,'' a source said. When a staff doctor goes abroad, the airline pays a daily allowance and spends on the accommodation and local travel.

In fact, AI and all other private airlines opposed introduction of the clause regarding mandatory medical checks at foreign airports, citing the cost factor. They’d all noted that at various foreign airports, security personnel do the breath analyser check, while DGCA says only an MBBS degree holder should do the check.

Pilots agree the presence of alcohol in the blood can impair judgement and reactions. The consequences can be disastrous. The DGCA rule states that alcohol in even small quantities jeopardises flight safety on several counts and is likely to affect an aviator well into the hangover period.

Aviation safety expert Mohan Ranganathan says the DGCA is equally to blame. “The DGCA is lenient to the airlines. It is not strict in enforcing rules. In the UK, a pilot is arrested if alcohol beyond a certain limit is found in the blood,'' he said. In India, a pilot’s licence is suspended for three months if he/she fails the check for the first time and cancelled for five years after a second violation. Ranganthan also notes that in India, pilots caught more than once for being drunk had simply switched airlines in the past.

DGCA Bharat Bhushan says he’s asked AI to get its act together. “I am aware of the problem. I have told Air India it will have do medical checks as prescribed in the rules,'' he said.

A senior AI commander said “None of the airlines are carrying out pre-flight medical checks abroad every 15 days. This is not possible because of the cost involved.'' He said AI had asked for a dispensation from DGCA in the matter. Kingfisher Airlines did not respond, while a Jet Airways spokesperson said it was carrying out checks twice each month as mandated by the regulator.