India's airline authorities caught 57 pilots over the alcohol limit who were reported to be drunk, during the duty time. They had been practicing this activity from the past two years.
Civil Aviation Minister, Vayalar Ravi told the parliament that in random pre-flight medical tests between January 2009 and November 2010, the services of 11 of these pilots were terminated, whereas the remaining pilots, he said, were either issued warning letters or removed from flying duties for a short period.
India's air safety record has been good over the past decade but analysts are of the view that this episode could have had serious repercussions. Last May, a plane crash in southern India killed 158 people and an official investigation later blamed it on a "sleepy pilot".
To combat the rising number of inebriated pilots in India's skies, authorities brought in a rule last year grounding first-time offenders for three months and stripping the flying licence from repeat offenders.
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