Drug test for pilots across airlines after Air India’s Phuket incident

Drug test for pilots throughout airlines after Air India's Phuket incident Regulator to put out tougher testing norms draft by month-end.

Key points

• 4 min read New Delhi Updated: Sep 11, 2026 02: 22 AM IST.
• The plane fell 300 feet mid-air and 24 individuals were injured.
• Sources remarked the direction to airlines was issued in August and testing has already begun.

Notably, the plane fell 300 feet mid-air and 24 individuals were injured. (ANI Photo/ Image enhanced using AI).

After an Air India pilot testing positive for drugs after the aircraft he was commanding lost altitude all of a sudden while flying from Phuket to Delhi, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered all Indian airlines to conduct a one-time test for psychoactive substances on all pilots by July next year, The Indian Express has learnt.

Sources remarked the direction to airlines was issued in August and testing has already begun. Indian airlines are estimated to have close to 14, 000 pilots.

After the August 4 incident involving the Phuket-Delhi flight, and before the DGCA direction, the Air India Group had voluntarily initiated one-time random drug tests on an estimated 5, 000 pilots employed by Air India and Air India Express.

Taken together, the developments around drug test for pilots across airlines after Air India's Phuket incident point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.