The civil aviation ministry is considering random, year-round psychoactive substance testing for all commercial pilots, with Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu saying on Tuesday that the DGCA is consulting stakeholders on further strengthening existing drug-testing norms as part of efforts to enhance safety standards.
"Right now, the rules say 10 per cent (drug tests) across the overall pilot network, but just like I said, DGCA is engaging (with stakeholders)... One of the opinions from our side is that everyone has to go through it (drug tests) the (whole) year at a random time.
"So, we have to see how all the stakeholders are going to respond to this," the minister said.
The issue of possible substance use by pilots has come to the spotlight after an Air India captain of a Phuket-Delhi flight involved in a sudden altitude loss incident tested positive for marijuana. Currently, drug tests for pilots are done on a random basis.
The Minister on Tuesday said that the regulator DGCA is currently consulting stakeholders to review existing rules and establish a stricter policy for the future.
"There are multiple ways of approaching this dope test (thing)," the minister said. He was responding to queries related to psychoactive substance testing for pilots on the sidelines of an event in the national capital.
Meanwhile, Air India and Air India Express have also started mandatory psychoactive substance testing of all their pilots.
(With inputs from PTI)