New Delhi: Of late, Indian airlines are in the news for all the wrong reasons. On Sunday, a senior Air India pilot was found drunk and another skipped the mandatory breathalyser test. Both have been grounded. The first pilot to be grounded – Air India Director of Operations Arvind Kathpalia — was to fly a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to London from New Delhi; he failed the pre-flight breath analysis test after an unacceptably high alcohol count was detected in his blood. Kathpalia will now face a probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. He may also face a three-year ban and will be barred from operating commercial jetliners during this period.
Aircraft rules bar crew members from consuming any alcoholic drink 12 hours prior to the commencement of a flight, and it is mandatory for them to undergo an alcohol test both before and after operating a flight. Sources in Air India said that Kathpalia – who has even flown Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past — was a repeat offender. In January 2017, he was grounded for three months after tests revealed alcohol in bloodstream. According to reports, a court had directed the Delhi police to lodge an FIR against him at the time for violating aviation rules, tampering with evidence and intimidating a doctor employed by Air India.
Air India had to call another pilot to replace Kathpalia and operate the flight (AI-111) which departed after a delay of 55 minutes. Those who thought the incident of an Air India pilot on flight from Delhi to London, failing the pre-flight breath analysis test, was an aberration, are in for a surprise. An Air India flight from Delhi to Bangkok was forced to return minutes after take-off after it was found that the co-pilot had skipped his mandatory pre-flight breathalyser test.
The passengers were miffed as they were made to sit in the plane for more than five hours without being given any reason for the delay. The passengers continue to be grounded at the time of filing this report. Many shared their ordeal on social media. Immediately after returning to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the pilot and the co-pilot, left the cockpit. So, there was no pilot on board for hours and no reason was given for the unscheduled landing. Later, it was found that the flight returned as the pilot missed his pre-flight breath analyser test.