Boozed-up Air India pilot loses license

INDIA’S air safety watchdog yesterday suspended the license of a senior Air India pilot, who is also the carrier’s director of operations, for three years, a day after he failed two breathalyzer tests before a flight to London from New Delhi.

This is the second time Arvind Kathpalia has been in trouble over alcohol tests. He was suspended for three months in 2017 for allegedly refusing breathalyzer tests.

“The privileges of his license have been suspended for a period of three years from November 11, 2018 as per the provisions of applicable regulations,” a spokesman for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.

Kathpalia, who sits on the airline’s board, said the DGCA directive “is a rule and so it is meant to be followed.”

“At present, I don’t see how” to contest it, he added.

On Sunday, he had said that he would contest the results of the tests and claimed he was the victim of internal feuding within the loss-making stateowned airline.

Kathpalia was appointed operations director in June 2017.

India is one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets with about 20 percent growth in the number of passengers taking domestic and international flights over the past few years.

More than 1 million flights departed from the country last fiscal year, ending on March 31, according to DGCA data.

Between 2015-2017, 132 pilots in India failed a breathalyzer test during the mandatory preflight examination, Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu told parliament in August.

Of these, 112 pilots were first time offenders and their pilot license was suspended for three months. Fifteen pilots were repeat offenders and had their license suspended for three years, Prabhu said.