Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Rule on alcoholic test endangers lives: Pilots to DGCA

New Delhi: A union of Air India pilots has asked the DGCA why are crew of Indian carriers operating a flight from a foreign station not required to undergo alcohol test after landing in India.

As per rules framed by the civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), pilots and cabin crew of flights originating from India have to undergo pre- flight breath-analyser test while those of flights originating from destinations outside India will be subjected to an examination on reaching India.
The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA), in a letter to Director General, DGCA, B S Bhullar, said that safety of passengers was being endangered by not requiring an alcohol test of the flight and cabin crew before take-off.

The pilots’ body wrote this while registering their protest after the DGCA warned that it could suspend 132 pilots and 434 crew members of Air India for skipping the mandatory pre- and post-flight breath analyser test for alcohol.

“We would also like to know why no doctors are present at international stations to perform breath analyser test for any Indian carriers? Are senior officials working in connivance with private carriers to save their cost?

“We strongly believe PFM (pre-flight medical) should be done before a flight and not at first or second port of landing in India after a flight endangering the safety of innocent flying passengers,” says the letter.

Pilots say that flights from international stations are exempt from pre-flight medical test because carriers find it difficult to depute doctors for this purpose.
12/09/17 City Today
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