A large number of Indian pilots are either too tired or too drunk – so why are they still flying?

The next time you fly, stay put on your seat and make sure the seat belt is tightly strapped on. A large number of Indian pilots have been reporting to work either drunk or too tired to fly, but that has not stopped airline operators from assigning flights to them.

The air safety regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has initiated action against 63 SpiceJet pilots for flying beyond the maximum hours permissible, the Parliament was informed on Thursday. The regulator also suspended 11 pilots from Jet Airways and two other airlines for flying below the maximum permissible hours.

A fatigued pilot is prone to dozing off during the flight or not paying enough attention to signals and rules, which could result in accidents. According to aviation safety regulations, a pilot can fly a maximum of 35 hours a week on domestic and 40 hours on international routes. In a month, pilots can fly a maximum of 125 hours on both routes and the yearly limit is 1,000 hours.

India, however, is also grappling with a more alarming trend – that of pilots reporting drunk for duty.

In an unprecedented step, the DGCA directed the filing of First Information Reports against two senior pilots and two crew members of Air India and Jet Airways who were found to be drunk right after operating commercial flights.

According to reports, the two pilots had earlier tested positive during pre-flight tests as well, making them repeat offenders. However, this test was performed after the flight landed, meaning there was considerable imminent danger for passengers and crew being flown by inebriated pilots.

Flying high

This is the first time that criminal cases have been registered against pilots for being drunk – however, it’s far from the first time that pilots have been found to be drunk on duty.

Last month, the Ministry of Aviation told Parliament that there 43 pilots tested positive for alcohol during pre-flight tests in 2015 alone. So far this year, there have been at least 25 such instances. And over the last three years, 122 pilots have turned up drunk for work, Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation told the Lok Sabha.

Sinha told Parliament that airlines continue to educate pilots on safety norms and there are strict rules about alcohol consumption. However, he said that in 2014, the punishment for the offence was decreased. Instead of a five-year suspension, since 2014, pilots testing positive for alcohol are given a three-year suspension for their second offence.

While pilots are suspended for life in India on their third violation, the problem has persisted for many years now. And it’s not just the pilots who are responsible, the regulator DGCA also puts the blame on airlines for not detecting such violations in time or not ensuring that pilots get the required resting period between flights.

Buzz kill

In 2014, a ministerial response to a Lok Sabha question revealed that 435 enforcement actions (including warnings, suspensions, demand for a written apology, etc) had been taken over three years due to pilots failing the Breath Analyser Test. Meanwhile, another 88 actions were prompted by other safety violations by the airlines.

This, aviation experts said, happens routinely because rules are not enforced strictly enough and airlines are hand-in-glove with erring pilots.

“Those who put lives in danger by flying overseas flights while being drunk should be jailed right away,” said Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation safety expert. “The reason why this continues to happen even years after they [the government] brought supposedly stricter norms is because there’s no fear here.”

Ranganathan said that since airline operators are short-staffed, it is not in their interests to get a pilot banned for life for violations like showing up drunk.

“The airline would rather let the employee resign or get rid of him instead of reporting it as a second violation because it reflects badly on the carrier as well,” he further said said. “Unless the DGCA starts treating enforcement seriously, pilots and airlines will continue to put lives at risk without thinking twice about the consequences.”