India has very strict rules on alcohol use by airline employees. All flight crew and cabin crew members flying scheduled, charter, or non-scheduled aircraft out of India must submit to a pre-flight breathalyser test at the first departure airport while on duty. Recently, the DGCA has come up with a draft stating that pilots and crew may be banned from using mouthwash and perfume.
No Mouthwash & Perfume For Pilots & Crew: DGCA Draft
The DGCA, the civil aviation authority, has put forth a draft that might forbid pilots and crew from wearing perfumes while being tested with a breathalyser. Since perfumes typically contain a lot of alcohol and can interfere with breathalyser tests, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has developed the draft.
No crew member shall take any medication or composition, or use any substance, including mouthwash, tooth gel, perfume, or any alcohol-containing product that could cause a breathalyser test to be positive. Before accepting a flying assignment, any crew member who is taking such medicine must consult the corporate doctor.
The Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) draft has been made available to the public for stakeholder input, according to the DGCA director. Before any operation, breathalyser tests are strictly enforced by Indian airlines and the DGCA, and they are always conducted in front of cameras.
India’s Rules For Alcohol
A three-month licence suspension is possible if there is just a slight indication of alcohol consumption. Additionally, according to the regulations, all operators must make sure that the breathalyser test is captured on camera and that the tapes are retained for six months.
The DGCA also mandates a 12-hour gap between flying an aircraft and ingesting alcohol. Pilots who fail the alcohol test for the first time are prohibited from flying for three months; those who fail it again are prohibited from flying for three years; and those who fail it three times in a row have their licence permanently revoked.
The DGCA claims that a few common products could result in a false-positive test. The rule change may therefore close a legal gap that crew members were using to avoid having their licence suspended. In the aviation sector throughout the world, pilot intoxication has occasionally been a concern.
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After testing positive for alcohol last year, 116 members of the cabin crew and 41 Indian pilots had their licences temporarily suspended.
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