New Delhi, May 15 (Language)
A total of 84 people on duty were found intoxicated at 42 Indian airports between January 2021 and March 2022, according to data from aviation regulator DGCA. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, 54 (64 per cent) of the 84 employees were caught in a state of intoxication during the mandatory alcohol test. These figures have been made available to ‘PTI-Bhasha’. Many of the employees who failed the alcohol test were hired by airport operators, while some of them were hired by other companies that do a variety of airport jobs. According to DGCA data, 56 employees at 35 airports operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), 17 employees at four airports operated by Adani Group, nine at two airports operated by GMR Group and Bengaluru airport operated by Fairfax India. But two employees failed the alcohol test between January 2021 and March 2022. According to DGCA data, 54 of the 84 employees who failed the mandatory alcohol check between January 2021 and March 2022 were drivers. However, Bangalore airport operator Biel clarified that the two employees who failed the liquor test were not his employees. “There has been no incident of failure of its employees in the breath analyzer test at Bangalore airport (BIAL) in 2021 and so far this year,” it said. When asked in the data shared by the Centre-run AAI, only 18 employees at 14 airports operated by AAI were caught in an inebriated condition during alcohol tests between January 2021 and March 2022.
The AAI said, “Out of the 18 employees who failed the BA (Bread Analyst) test, three were from AAI and the remaining 15 were from agencies working on contract with AAI.” Adani Group and GMR Group did not respond to PTI’s queries regarding the matter. The airport where the maximum number of nine employees failed alcohol tests between January 2021 and March 2022 is Mumbai airport, which has been under the Adani group since July last year. Before July 2021, the Mumbai airport was under the control of GVK Group.
The DGCA had in September 2019 issued the rules for BA screening for all airport employees. As per the rules, the airport operator concerned will have to regularly check for alcohol not only of his own employees but also of employees of other companies working at the airport. According to the rules, if an employee is found to be drunk for the first time during a liquor test or refuses to be tested or tries to avoid it by leaving the airport premises, he will be ‘dismissed from duty and his license will be for three months’. will be suspended for the period of Rs. AAI told ‘PTI-Bhasha’, “Those employees who come on duty under the influence of alcohol are not tolerated at all in AAI. Heads of all departments at respective airports sensitize their employees and employees of contracting agencies about non-drinking of alcohol while on duty and inform them about the penalties mentioned in DGCA CAR (Regulation).
