The final laboratory reports for the two pilots are awaited. A preliminary or screening result that is described as “non-negative” does not by itself establish a confirmed positive finding; the sample has to undergo confirmatory laboratory analysis. The two pilots have therefore been de-rostered pending the final results.
The latest tests are part of Air India’s expanded substance-screening programme introduced after the August 4 incident involving an Airbus A320neo operating from Phuket to Delhi. The aircraft suffered a sudden loss of altitude of about 300 feet during the flight, leaving passengers and crew injured. The pilot-in-command subsequently returned a positive result for marijuana in a confirmatory test.
Air India has gone beyond the existing regulatory requirement by ordering mandatory substance testing for its entire pilot workforce, including pilots of Air India Express. The airline’s internal directive covers testing during training sessions, after flights and at briefing centres, offices and other locations designated at pilots’ home bases.
More than 300 Air India pilots have already undergone screening, according to sources. The exercise is expected to continue as the airline works through its pilot workforce.
The expanded testing follows the confirmed marijuana finding involving the Phuket-Delhi flight commander. Authorities had earlier said the pilot’s initial screening had produced a result requiring further laboratory examination before the final finding was established.
A member of the cabin crew on the Phuket-Delhi flight is also understood to have complained to the airline, alleging that the commander had smoked cannabis before the flight. The allegation is part of the wider inquiry into the incident and has not, by itself, established when or whether the substance was consumed.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is separately examining the circumstances surrounding the sudden altitude loss. The drug-test finding is therefore one element of a broader investigation and does not, on its own, establish the cause of the aircraft’s altitude change.
What is Air India’s new testing SOP?
Air India’s expanded programme is more extensive than the regulatory minimum. According to the airline’s internal memo cited by Reuters:
- All pilots are being tested, rather than only a randomly selected portion of the workforce.
- Air India Express pilots are also covered.
- Tests can be conducted during training sessions.
- Pilots may also be screened after flights.
- Testing can take place at briefing centres and airline offices.
- Pilots can be directed to testing locations designated at their home bases.
- The screening covers psychoactive substances as well as medications prohibited under aviation regulations.
The initiative goes beyond the existing requirement that airlines randomly test at least 10% of their flight crew each year for psychoactive substances. Air India said the broader programme was intended to strengthen safety standards and reassure passengers and other stakeholders.
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How does drug testing work in aviation?
Aviation regulators distinguish between screening and confirmation.
A preliminary test is designed to identify whether a sample contains indications of a prohibited substance. If the result is “non-negative”, the person is not automatically treated as having a confirmed positive result. The sample is sent for confirmatory laboratory analysis, which determines whether the substance is actually present and whether the initial screening result should be confirmed. This is what happened in the Phuket-Delhi case.
Drug testing is also different from alcohol testing. Alcohol can be checked relatively quickly using a breath analyser, and aviation rules provide for breathalyser testing of flight crew before relevant flying operations. Drug testing is more complicated because different substances have different detection windows, making laboratory confirmation particularly important.
India’s aviation framework provides for random testing of aviation personnel for psychoactive substances. The regulatory regime has been developed to cover safety-sensitive personnel, with the objective of preventing people under the influence of prohibited substances from performing safety-critical duties.
The Phuket-Delhi episode has now prompted a much wider approach at Air India, with the airline effectively moving from periodic random surveillance to screening its entire pilot pool. The latest two non-negative preliminary results underline why the distinction between a screening result and a confirmed laboratory finding is crucial: until the confirmatory reports arrive, the status of the two pilots remains unresolved.
