Airlines directed by DGCA to test all pilots following Air India drugs row, report says

India is tightening the cockpit door from within, moving to make drug screening a routine safeguard across the country’s airline industry after recent cases raised concerns over pilot fitness.

The aviation regulator has asked airlines to conduct a one-time drug test on all pilots by July next year, Bloomberg reported on September 10 quoting a government official.

Testing has already begun across carriers, the official told Bloomberg's Mihir Mishra, requesting anonymity ahead of a formal announcement by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).


The move follows an unusual incident involving an Air India-operated Airbus SE A320, in which all three hydraulic systems failed. Such a simultaneous failure is considered highly unlikely in an aircraft designed with multiple layers of redundancy.

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The malfunction resulted in the autopilot disengaging and the aircraft losing about 300 feet in altitude.

The aircraft had flown from Phuket and landed in India on August 4. The captain subsequently tested positive for illegal drugs. Investigators have not determined whether the pilot's condition played any role in the aircraft's sudden descent.

However, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in an interim report released last Friday, flagged the discovery of drug use as a serious concern and called for urgent and appropriate action by the regulator.

Air India Ltd. had already announced a one-time drug screening programme covering all its pilots following the incident. The regulator is separately engaging with airlines on strengthening the existing drug-testing framework.

The developments come as aviation authorities in other countries have also tightened scrutiny of cockpit crew. Malaysia Airlines introduced mandatory drug testing in August after a member of its cockpit crew was arrested over alleged narcotics smuggling.

New drug-testing framework

The Indian government is now preparing changes to the rules governing drug tests for pilots. Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said the draft amendments would be finalised by the end of this month.

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The minister did not provide details of the proposed changes. The revised framework is, however, expected to strengthen screening for psychoactive substances and extend the testing requirements more comprehensively across the airline industry.

The proposed changes come at a time when airlines are facing closer scrutiny over operational safety and crew fitness. A broader and more stringent testing regime could make drug screening a more systematic part of pilot oversight rather than a measure triggered primarily by individual incidents.