{"id":112047,"date":"2026-08-13T15:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T15:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/air-india-expands-drug-testing-to-all-pilots-after-captain-tests-positive-for-marijuana-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T15:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T15:52:11","slug":"air-india-expands-drug-testing-to-all-pilots-after-captain-tests-positive-for-marijuana-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/air-india-expands-drug-testing-to-all-pilots-after-captain-tests-positive-for-marijuana-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Air India expands drug testing to all pilots after captain tests positive for marijuana | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tests will \u200bscreen for substances and medications prohibited under \u200baviation regulations<\/p>\n

Air India has been under heightened scrutiny since a June 12 crash involving a Boeing Dreamliner that killed 260 people. PHOTO: PIXABAY <\/p>\n

\n

Air India will begin mandatory substance testing for all pilots on \u200bThursday, expanding checks beyond regulatory requirements days \u200cafter a pilot involved in a serious mid-air incident tested positive for marijuana, according to an internal memo.<\/p>\n

The tests will \u200bscreen for substances and medications prohibited under \u200baviation regulations and will be conducted alongside training \u2060sessions at the airline’s Gurugram academy, after flights \u200bat briefing centres and offices, or at locations designated \u200bby pilots’ home bases.<\/p>\n

Pilots at budget subsidiary Air India Express will also be tested.<\/p>\n

Air India did not immediately respond to \u200ban email seeking comment. Existing rules require airlines \u200bto randomly test at least 10% of their flight crew for \u200cpsychoactive \u2060substances each year.<\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong> India prepares interim report as Air India crash anniversary nears<\/a><\/p>\n

“We nevertheless now feel that it is important to go further,” Air India said in the memo, adding that the initiative was intended to \u200buphold safety \u200bstandards and \u2060provide reassurance to passengers and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n

The move comes as authorities investigate an \u200bAugust 4 incident involving an Air India \u200bAirbus \u2060A320neo flying from Phuket to Delhi that suddenly lost about 300 feet (91 metres) of altitude during cruise.<\/p>\n

The flight’s \u2060captain \u200btested positive for marijuana in a confirmatory \u200bdrug test, according to a source familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

The incident<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier, Reuters<\/em> reported that India’s Ministry of Civil \u2060Aviation summoned Air India CEO Campbell Wilson over the \u200bincident, which involved an Airbus A320neo aircraft, a second source \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n

Air India and the ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Wilson told news channels the airline had briefed the ministry on \u200bthe status of the investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n

The summons \u200bcame days after Indian authorities opened an investigation into the incident, which \u200cinjured \u206013 passengers and four crew members.<\/p>\n

The flight from the Thai tourist city experienced a “momentary altitude variation” while it was flying over the eastern Indian state of Odisha, the government \u200bhad said earlier.<\/p>\n

The \u200baircraft, carrying \u2060137 passengers and eight crew members, landed safely in Delhi.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tests will \u200bscreen for substances and medications prohibited under \u200baviation regulations Air India has been under heightened scrutiny since a June 12 crash involving a Boeing Dreamliner that killed 260 people. PHOTO: PIXABAY Air India will begin mandatory substance testing for all pilots on \u200bThursday, expanding checks beyond regulatory requirements days \u200cafter a pilot involved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.tribune.com.pk\/media\/images\/airindia1767362046-0\/airindia1767362046-0-640x480.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t