Pilots barred from using mouthwash, tooth gel on all flights originating from India
Flight crew will be subjected to a pre-flight breath-analyzer examination at the airport
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation barred pilots and other crew members from using substances such as mouthwash, tooth gel or any such product with alcoholic content as it could result in postive results during a breath analyser test.
The aviation regulator issued revised Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for procedure for medical examination of aircraft personnel for alcohol consumption.
Under revised guidelines operators other than the scheduled operators, each flight crew and cabin crew of all flights originating from India shall be subjected to a pre-flight breath-analyzer examination at the first departure airport during a flight duty period.
However, where infrastructure does not exist, the flight crew and cabin crew shall undergo post-flight breath-analyzer examination. In case the flight crew and cabin crew are away from the base station for more than two days and operate a flight from there, the operator shall provide a facility for the conduct of their pre-flight breath-analyzer examination.
"No crew member shall consume any drug/formulation or use any substance such as mouthwash/tooth gel or any such product which has alcoholic content. This may result in a positive breath analyser test. Any crew member who is undergoing such medication shall consult the company doctor before undertaking flying assignment," it read.
Further, operators shall make available at least two serviceable breath-analyzer equipment fuel cell technology based, capable of giving accurate digital value up to three decimal places with a memory to store and recall at least the last 1000 records, reads the revised guidelines.
"All the breath-analyser examination positive/missed cases shall be promptly reported but not later than 24 hours of occurrence to the concerned Regional Air Safety Offices of the DGCA and Director of Air Safety (HQ) by the operator. The detailed information shall also be submitted through the eGCA portal of DGCA," it said.
Under the revised guidelines, DGCA has tightened the enforcement action on post-flight breath-analyzer positive/missed breath-analyzer tests. The enforcement action ranges from suspension of license for three months to cancellations of license depending upon the severity.