Ajit Singh the civil aviation minister said that fourteen pilots and thirty one cabin crew members were tested positive in alcohol tests which are generally conducted before a flight as a medical examination from January to March this year. This number is higher compared to the stats from last year which stand at 4 pilots and 21 cabin crew members.

"This year 14 pilots and 31 cabin crew members failed the breathalyzer test, compared to four and 21 last year," Singh in his reply letter to Lok Sabha.

Four of the 14 pilots belonged to Jet Airways, three from Air India, Two from Kingfisher, Indigo and SpiceJet each while one was from Jetlite he said. He also mentioned that last year they had found only 4 pilots under the influence of alcohol;  two from Kingfisher, one from Jet Airways and Jetlite, each.

In the cabin crew members who were caught this year 10 were from Jet Airways, 9 IndiGo, 3 each from Jetlite, Air India and SpiceJet, one each from Kingfisher, Go Airways and Air India Express.

He also announced that the violators of the norms were punished according to the Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR). Their licenses were suspended for the first month if they had not violated prior to this incident. In case of second time violators, their licenses were canceled for five years. One such pilot whose license was canceled belonged to Jetlite who had failed the test twice. A crew member on probation terminated from her position after she tested positive.

(AW- Anil)