Chennai: Air safety experts feel that alcohol checks should be made more comprehensive for flight crew and that ground crew, including aeronautical engineers and airline security staff, should go through breath analyzer checks to ensure passenger safety.
The number of pilots who were grounded for reporting drunk for duty in the last five years at Chennai airport shows that the problem is rampant and that airlines are making the most of loopholes in the law to evade checks and maintain flight schedules. In the last five years, 17 pilots were grounded at Chennai airport after failing the breath analyzer test before take-off.
"This is tip of the iceberg. In most of cases, airlines cover up for pilots failing breathalyzer tests before a flight. Flight operations inspectors have tested positive during pre-flight alcohol test but they have been allowed to continue," said air safety expert and member of DGCA committee on passenger safety Captain Mohan Ranganathan.
Read news in full 26/05/14 V Ayyappan/Times of India
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