Suspended Air India pilot Arvind Kathpalia to lose airport access post alcohol test fail

Mumbai, Nov 22: Air India's former director for operations Capt Arvind Kathpalia, who lost the post early this month for twice failing to clear alcohol tests before operating a flight, is set to lose his automatic access to airports. The civil aviation ministry has started the process of revoking Kathpalia's airport entry pass.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which issues the passes to airline employees and crew, has asked Air India to surrender Kathpalia's pass, which allows him access to all airports and all areas within airports.

Earlier, Kathpalia has been reverted to the position of executive director (ED), an airline source said.

The senior pilot, who has been serving the national carrier since late 1980s, was elevated to the post of director in March 2017 from the position of ED, just about two months after his flying licence was suspended for three months for skipping a breath analyser (BA) or alcohol test.

In 2017, Kathpalia was suspended for three months when he had allegedly refused to undergo the alcohol test before and after his flight, which he operated on the Bengaluru and New Delhi and back in January that year.

On January 19 last year, Kathpalia flew a Delhi-Bengaluru flight AI 174 without going through the mandatory breathalyser test. He did not even take the test after landing in Bengaluru.