Air India pilot Arvind Kathpalia sacked as Director of Operations for failing alcohol test before flight

Senior Air India pilot Arvind Kathpalia, who failed the alcohol test before his scheduled flight to London on Sunday, has been sacked as Director of Operations on Tuesday. On Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended his licence.  

 Captain Arvind Kathpalia was found to have an unacceptably high blood alcohol count shortly before his flight between to London from New Delhi.

This was the second time Kathpalia failed the alcohol test. He was suspended for three months in 2017 for allegedly refusing to take breathalyser tests. He was subsequently removed from the post of executive director, operations.

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 him/her to undergo an alcohol test both before and after operating a flight.

Earlier, chief of operations Kathpalia’s flying licence 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.