Air India Operations Chief Sacked After Failing Alcohol Test

On Sunday, Air India grounded Capt Arvind Kathpalia after he allegedly failed to clear the pre-flight alcohol test.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

Air India Captain Arvind Kathpalia, in charge of Director Operations was sacked on Tuesday, 13 November, a day after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended his license for three years after failing the Breath Analyser Test.

“In the case of Air India pilot Capt Arvind Kathpalia being detected BA (Breath Analyser Test) positive yesterday, the privileges of his licence have been suspended for a period of three years,” news agency ANI quoted DGCA as saying.

On Sunday, 11 November, Air India grounded Kathpalia after he allegedly failed to clear the pre-flight alcohol test, a senior airline official said. In a separate incident, another pilot of the same airline was also reportedly grounded for missing his breath-analyser test.

“After the tests were completed and I was sitting for the pre-flight briefing, the doctor came and informed me that the test conducted in her presence was found positive. When asked why she didn’t tell me right then (earlier), she said something was wrong with the machine and it was taking time to register.”

Captain AK Kathpalia to NDTV

Speaking to NDTV, Kathpalia said he also got a blood test done at a private agency, the results of which will come out only after 48 hours.

Kathpalia was to operate the airline's New Delhi-London flight on Sunday afternoon.

Air India had to call another pilot to replace him and operate the flight (AI-111), which departed after a delay of 55 minutes, causing inconvenience to passengers, an airline source said.

“We have grounded Capt AK Kathpalia as he failed twice in the breath-analyser test. He was to operate the London flight from New Delhi, but he failed to clear the pre-flight alcohol test.”

Airline official

“He was given another chance, but the second test was also found positive, following which he was grounded,” he said.

Air India spokesperson was not available for comments on the matter.

Rule 24 of the Aircraft Rules prohibits crew members from partaking 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.

Indian Commercial Pilots Association also wrote to Ministry of Civil Aviation to take action against Kathpalia, ANI reported.

The prescribed punishment for such offences under the DGCA rules is suspension of flying licence for three months in case of first breach.

For violating the norms second time in a row, the license is suspended for three years and for a third time, it is permanently cancelled.

Earlier, Kathpalia’s flying license was suspended in 2017 for three months by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for allegedly skipping the breath-analyser test before a flight. He was subsequently removed from the post of executive director, operations.

However, he was later appointed to the post of director of operations in Air India Ltd for a period of five years.

A senior official at the DGCA said a decision on Kathpalia's flying license is expected to be taken on Monday, 12 November.

Another Pilot Misses Alcohol Test, Grounded

In another incident, an Air India flight from New Delhi to Bangkok had to return as its co-pilot did not take the pre-flight breath-analyser test. The incident led to a seven-hour delay of the flight.

With the protocol being that a person is assumed to be positive if they miss the pre-flight test, the pilot was grounded for three months, NDTV reported citing sources.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI and NDTV.)