As many as 181 pilots of scheduled and non-scheduled operators were tested positive for alcohol during 2015-2018, the Civil Aviation Ministry informed Parliament on Thursday.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said that in 2015, as many as 43 pilots tested positive for alcohol, followed by 44 in 2016.
In 2017, the number stood at 45 and 49 such cases have come to the fore till November 2018, he said.
In November this year, Air India Captain Arvind Kathpalia, in charge of Director Operations, was sacked a day after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended his license for three years for failing the breath analyser test.
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On October 3, a total of 58 Air India pilots were reported drunk right before they had to fly from various airports in India in last eight years, as revealed by the state-run carrier itself.
As per India Today report, Delhi and Mumbai have topped the list of pilots failing the alcohol test during pre-flight checks, with 18 cases each as per data provided in response to a Right to Information (RTI) question filed by the daily. The report added that all the pilots who were found drunk were suspended by the airline.
Last year an Air India pilot was grounded for three months after he tested positive in the mandatory pre-flight alcohol test, minutes before operating a flight to Abu Dhabi from Delhi.
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(With inputs from PTI)
