Air India pilot caught drunk for third time: fired

Do you know, by any chance, how to say "did you raise your elbow?" in Hindi? I, honestly, do not but I imagine that was the question the Delhi authorities asked a pilot suspected of being drunk During working hours. 

Let's go in order. We find ourselves in India. The commander of a flight Air India, which took off from Phuket and directed to Delhi, once he arrived at his destination he was subjected to an alcohol test and tested positive: his blood alcohol level far exceeded the permitted limit. Moral of the story? The driver was fired and he was revoked from the flight license; in addition to that TATA Group, the company's owner, announced that it would initiate a prosecution vs. the pilot.

Air India calls its policy on crew alcohol intake particularly strict even though, on balance, it is no more than that: the first time a pilot is "caught" with a blood alcohol content above the limit, his license is suspended for 3 months; the second time, his license is suspended for 3 years; and finally, the third time, his license is revoked for life and dismissal is triggered. And this is precisely the case with the commander of the Phuket-Dehli flight.

India's flag carrier leads spot test on both domestic and long-haul flight crews: for the former, alcohol testing is administered before the flight (because alcohol is not served on domestic routes); for the latter, it is administered upon arrival.

It seems, alas, that the fired pilot's is not an isolated case: only in the first 6 months of 2023, According to a report in the Times of India, 33 pilots and 97 crew members were found to be breathalyzer positive.