Senior Air India officer removed from post for failing alcohol test twice

Captain Arvind Kathpalia has said that he will contest the results of the tests and claimed he is the victim of internal feuding at the airline

Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday removed a senior Air India official from his post after he failed two breathalyser tests before he was to fly a plane to London from New Delhi.   

Captain Arvind Kathpalia was the director of operations at the national carrier. It was the second time Kathpalia was in trouble over alcohol tests. He was suspended for three months in 2017 for allegedly refusing to take breathalyser tests.  

"The privileges of his licence have been suspended for a period of three years from 11.11.2018 as per the provisions of applicable regulations," a spokesperson at the DGCA said in a statement. 

On Sunday, he had said that he would contest the results of the tests and claimed he was the victim of internal feuding within the loss-making state-owned airline.