New Delhi, November 11: In a major setback to Air India, its senior pilot Arvind Kathpalia was declared ‘not fit to fly’ as he was found positive in a pre-flight breath analyser (BA) test on Sunday. Kathpalia was scheduled to fly AI-111 flight from Delhi to London today. According to a tweet by ANI, Kathpalia was found positive in BA test and was later grounded by authorities.

In another similar incident, an Air India 332 Delhi -Bangkok flight returned to Delhi Airport as the flight's co-pilot missed his pre-flight Breath Analyser (BA) Test. It must be noted that it is mandatory for pilots to undertake the BA test to ensure that they are not in an inebriated state before entering the cockpit. For safety reasons, they are prohibited from consuming alcohol before reporting for duty.

Take a look at the tweets:

Air India Chief, Flight Safety informed that its pilot Capt. Arvind Kathpalia has been grounded and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been informed to take necessary action. Reports inform that the Air India senior pilot Arvind Kathpalia was on Sunday found positive in Breath Analyser (BA) and declared 'not to fly'. He was scheduled to fly AI's Delhi to London flight. Mumbai Airport: Air India Contract Workers Go on Strike for Diwali Bonus, Flights Disrupted. Mumbai Airport: Air India Contract Workers Go on Strike for Diwali Bonus, Flights Disrupted.

This is not the first time when the pilot has failed the test. According to the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), Arvind Kathpalia had failed the BA on 19th January, 2017. Details by ICPA informed that Kathpalia skipped the BA test on January 19 and proceeded to do so without undergoing the mandatory test. He was scheduled to operate a flight from New Delhi to Bengaluru and claimed that the flight would get delayed. Air India Express Flight Hits ATC Compound Wall at Trichy Airport, Close Shave For 136 Passengers.

Upon landing at Bengaluru, the pilot once again refused to undergo the test. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association writes to Ministry of Civil Aviation to take action against Air India pilot Arvind Kathpalia, who was found positive in Breath Analyser (BA) Test and declared 'not fit to fly' on Sunday. Last year, the DGCA had suspended Kathpalia for three months after he had skipped a compulsory pre-flight medical test several times.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 11, 2018 06:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).