181 pilots tested positive for alcohol during 2015-2018: Aviation Ministry

A total of 181 pilots of scheduled and non-scheduled operators tested positive for alcohol during 2015-2018, the Civil Aviation Ministry informed Parliament on Thursday.

Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, 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.