india

Updated: Oct 28, 2019 18:46 IST

Thirteen airline staffers posted at airports have failed alcohol tests since September 16 and have been suspended for three months, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said Monday.

At least four of these employees who were tested over the last two months are drivers who ferry passengers from the terminal to the aircraft. According to the data, seven out of the 13 employees are from Indigo.

The tests were part of the new rules that the DGCA had notified on September 16 by which 10 per cent non flying employees of airlines would be tested randomly for the use of alcohol. From November 1, this will be mandatory for all crew members especially the very crucial segment of employees that work in the Air Traffic Controls or ATCs. That means other than pilots and crew members, 25,000 new airline employees will come under the breath analyser testing rules.

“What it reveals is that there is a problem and needs to be dealt with firmly,” Arun Kumar, Director General of the DGCA told Hindustan Times.

The DGCA in a statement said that the employers of the offending employees had taken necessary action. “The employers have taken the punitive action as proposed in the Civil Aviation Requirement and we acknowledge their co-operation and support,” it said.

The rules say that a first offence will invite a three-month suspension while in case of a second violation, the suspension will be for a year.

“This will provide a good deterrent to all the non-flying members who were previously getting away with being drunk on duty,’’ said a civil aviation ministry official.

Apart from Indigo, one Go Air and one SpiceJet employee have also been found to be drunk on duty. The offenders vary from drivers, to aerobridge operators, to a customer services official and even one management person.

HT has reached out to IndiGo and SpiceJet for their comments but is yet to hear from them

By October 30, all staffers at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Lucknow and Guwahati airports will have to get mandatory testing while 33 others will begin by November 30. By January 1, this rule will apply to all other airports and their staffers functioning across the country.