The Civil Aviation Ministry is looking at the possibility of carrying out psychoactive substance tests for all commercial pilots round the year on a random basis.
The issue of possible substance use by pilots has come to the spotlight after an Air India Phuket-Delhi flight experienced a sudden 300-foot altitude drop over Odisha, leaving 20 passengers and four cabin crew members injured. The flight’s pilot was tested positive for marijuana.
The Airbus A320 aircraft, bearing registration VT-EXO, subsequently stabilised and landed safely in Delhi.
Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, speaking to reporters in Delhi, said the existing rules provide for dope testing of 10 per cent of pilots across the overall pilot network, while the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is engaging with stakeholders on expanding the testing.
“There are multiple ways of approaching this dope test. Right now, the rule says 10 per cent across the overall pilot network. DGCA is engaging, and one of the opinions from our side is that everyone has to go through it in the year at a random time,” he said.
#WATCH | Delhi: On being asked about conducting dope tests for pilots, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu says, “There are multiple ways of approaching this dope test. Right now, the rule says 10% across the overall pilot network. DGCA is engaging, and one of the… pic.twitter.com/R326u9CLQm
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2026
The Minister said the proposed approach would need to balance safety concerns with the operational impact on airlines.
“We have to see how all the stakeholders are going to respond to this because one is the safety aspect of it, and the second thing is the operational impact, which also has to be taken into consideration. So, we are going to balance both of them,” Naidu said.
He said the DGCA is also assessing the possible impact of introducing mandatory annual testing for every pilot.
“But if we were to implement 100 per cent testing, where every pilot has to undergo a dope test at least once a year, what impact would that have? The DGCA is strategising that,” he added.
Meanwhile, Air India and Air India Express have also started mandatory psychoactive substance testing of all their pilots.
