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New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India’s civil aviation regulator, has revised the rules to mandate breathalyser tests for 25% of personnel engaged in sensitive aviation work, up from the current 10%, in an effort to make flying safer. The revised rule, which will come into effect from June, covers those involved in aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, aerodrome operations, and ground handling services.
The new rule will kick in three months from now to give the industry enough time to enhance the infrastructure for breathalyser tests at various locations, the regulator said.
The DGCA had previously revised the rules on alcohol testing to include ground crew in September 2019, when it announced that breathalyser tests would be conducted on airside workers at all airports, including those involved in aircraft maintenance, air traffic control and ground handling.
The revised rule will further improve the level of safety and is an effective step in view of the increase in air traffic and ground movement at airports, the DGCA said.
It said only breathalysers with fuel cell sensor technology can be used to conduct the tests, as these produce more accurate results than regular ones.
In November the DGCA had made the use of such breathalysers mandatory for testing pilots and crew members. It had asked the pilots and crew members of all airlines not to use mouthwash or tooth gel before operating a flight as this could result in a false positive. The regulator had also made video-recording of breathalyser tests mandatory for air operators engaged in seasonal pilgrimage operations and for non-scheduled operators.
In the first half of 2023, 33 pilots and 97 cabin crew members failed their mandatory alcohol tests, the DGCA said in September. In the first half of 2022, only 14 pilots and 54 cabin crew members were found to be intoxicated while on duty, the regulator’s data showed.
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Published: 29 Feb 2024, 07:09 PM IST
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