Air India has expanded its pilot drug-screening drive to a full August 13, 2026 exercise covering more than 5,000 pilots across Air India and Air India Express, and two more Air India pilots have been removed from duty after returning non-negative initial screenings. The airline is awaiting confirmatory laboratory results as the broader testing regime continues during training, after flights, and at briefing centres and airline offices.
- Air India said the expanded screening covers more than 5,000 pilots across Air India and Air India Express, with testing carried out during training, after flights, and at briefing centres and airline offices.
- The carrier has removed two more pilots from the duty roster after their initial screens returned non-negative for psychoactive substances; their samples have been sent for confirmatory testing.
- The latest action follows the earlier positive test involving the Phuket-Delhi flight captain, while the Ministry of Civil Aviation has asked the DGCA to review the psychoactive-substance testing framework for pilots.
- Under the current DGCA process, an initial non-negative result takes a pilot off safety-sensitive duties immediately, and confirmatory laboratory testing determines any final finding.
Air India suspended a pilot after he failed a preliminary breathalyser test at Zurich Airport on September 6, 2026, before he was scheduled to operate flight AI151 to Delhi. The airline repatriated him to India as a passenger and kept him suspended pending the final medical report and investigation.
- Zurich ground staff detected the smell of alcohol and alerted local authorities before the pilot was due to operate Air India flight AI151; the flight did not depart as scheduled after he was removed from duty.
- Air India sent pilots a fresh communication reiterating its “zero-tolerance policy towards prohibited substances and reporting for duty under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” and said violations can result in disciplinary action, including suspension or termination.
- Switzerland’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation said it took measures under applicable national and international rules and that further handling rests with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation as the operator’s home-state authority.
1 earlier update
Air India has expanded its pilot drug-screening drive to a full August 13, 2026 exercise covering more than 5,000 pilots across Air India and Air India Express, and two more Air India pilots have been removed from duty after returning non-negative initial screenings. The airline is awaiting confirmatory laboratory results as the broader testing regime continues during training, after flights, and at briefing centres and airline offices.
- Air India said the expanded screening covers more than 5,000 pilots across Air India and Air India Express, with testing carried out during training, after flights, and at briefing centres and airline offices.
- The carrier has removed two more pilots from the duty roster after their initial screens returned non-negative for psychoactive substances; their samples have been sent for confirmatory testing.
- The latest action follows the earlier positive test involving the Phuket-Delhi flight captain, while the Ministry of Civil Aviation has asked the DGCA to review the psychoactive-substance testing framework for pilots.
- Under the current DGCA process, an initial non-negative result takes a pilot off safety-sensitive duties immediately, and confirmatory laboratory testing determines any final finding.
- Air India began mandatory drug screening for over 5,000 pilots on August thirteen, 2026.
- A captain on flight AI twenty-three seventy-nine tested positive for marijuana after a serious flight incident.
- The airline’s expanded safety protocols now exceed existing regulatory requirements to ensure passenger safety.
Air India began mandatory psychoactive-substance screening for more than 5,000 pilots on August 13, after the captain of the Phuket-Delhi flight AI2379 tested positive for marijuana in a confirmatory test.
The programme covers pilots at Air India and Air India Express. Testing is taking place through training sessions at the Gurugram Academy, flight briefing centres, airline offices and other designated locations.
The order followed an August 4 flight that lost about 300 feet of altitude while cruising before landing safely in Delhi. The Airbus A320, registered as VT-EXO, carried 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members.
Twenty-four passengers and crew members were injured. Both pilots have been removed from flying duty pending the investigation.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation called the incident serious and said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will probe it. The captain’s regulatory and employment consequences will follow the inquiry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation process.
The expanded checks reach pilots who were not involved in AI2379. The airline is screening its wider pilot workforce rather than limiting testing to the crew connected with the flight.
The airline says its new screening exceeds existing requirements
A management communication said the airline already complied with DGCA requirements, which it described as similar to practices in Europe and the United States. The message said the company would go further by screening all group pilots for substances or medications prohibited under prevailing regulations.
“This testing is mandatory and will start today, August 13.”
The communication described the testing as mandatory across the group. Screening began Thursday at the listed airline facilities and other designated locations.
The captain’s initial screening result was “non-negative.” DGCA procedure requires confirmatory testing after such a result, and the second test also returned positive.
The flight crew underwent several types of testing after landing
After the aircraft reached Delhi, both pilots took breathalyser tests for alcohol. The results were negative for both pilots.
Blood and urine testing followed. A result showing a psychotropic substance in the pilot-in-command’s samples led to another confirmatory test, with the results sent to a certified lab.
A source described the second result this way:
“The Pilot in Command has tested positive in the second dope test too with marijuana found in the samples taken from his body.”
The captain’s case remains under investigation. The final regulatory and employment outcomes will depend on the inquiry and the DGCA process.
| Incident detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Flight | AI2379, Phuket to Delhi, August 4 |
| Aircraft | Airbus A320, registered as VT-EXO |
| People aboard | 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members |
| Injuries | 24 passengers and crew members |
| Alcohol screening | Negative for both pilots |
| Captain’s confirmatory result | Positive for a psychoactive substance |
DGCA rules set out consequences after confirmed positives
The civil aviation requirement on psychoactive substances was issued in September 2021 and took effect in January 2022. It requires immediate removal from safety-sensitive duty when a screening result is non-negative.
A first confirmed positive requires rehabilitation. A second positive can result in a three-year licence suspension, while a third can lead to licence cancellation.
Those provisions form part of the process examining the captain’s case. The confirmed test result does not by itself determine the pilot’s final employment outcome.
The airline’s broader screening drive began as the regulatory and investigative processes continued. The programme includes checks for substances and medications not permitted under prevailing rules.
Investigators will examine the altitude loss and crew conduct
The August 4 aircraft later arrived safely in Delhi, but the loss of altitude remains part of the inquiry. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will examine the flight event, while the DGCA process addresses the testing and safety-sensitive-duty requirements.
The 137 people on board included three infants, and 24 passengers and crew members suffered injuries. Both pilots remain off flying duties pending the investigation.
The airline’s fleetwide screening is now in force. The captain’s case will proceed through the inquiry, confirmatory testing records and the applicable DGCA process.
