Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India’s Air Safety Watchdog Suspends Senior Air India Pilot’s License For Three Years

India's air safety watchdog on Monday (12) suspended the licence of a senior Air India pilot, who is also the carrier's director of operations, for three years, a day after he failed two breathalyzer tests before a flight to London from New Delhi.

This is the second time Arvind Kathpalia has been in trouble over alcohol tests. He was suspended for three months in 2017 for allegedly refusing to take breathalyzer tests.


"The privileges of his licence have been suspended for a period of three years from 11.11.2018 as per the provisions of applicable regulations," a spokesman at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.

Kathpalia, who sits on the airline's board, told Reuters the DGCA directive "is a rule and so it is meant to be followed".

"At present, I don't see how" to contest it, he added.

On Sunday (11), he had said that he would contest the results of the tests and claimed he was the victim of internal feuding within the loss-making state-owned airline.

An Air India spokesman could not be reached for comment.

India is one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets with about 20 per cent growth in the number of passengers taking domestic and international flights over the past few years.

More than one million flights departed from the country last fiscal year, ended March 31, according to DGCA data.

Between 2015-2017, 132 pilots in India failed a breathalyzer test during the mandatory pre-flight examination, the Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu told parliament in August.

Of these, 112 pilots were first time offenders and their pilot licence was suspended for three months. Fifteen pilots were repeat offenders and had their license suspended for three years, Prabhu said.

The licence of one pilot, who failed the test for the third time, was cancelled while four expatriate pilots lost their foreign licence for failing the test.

In 2017, Kathpalia was suspended for three months when he had allegedly refused to take a breathalyzer test before a flight to Bengaluru from New Delhi, the DGCA said.

In August 2018, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, a trade union representing pilots of the state-owned carrier, filed a court case against Kathpalia requesting stern action against him over the missed breathalyzer tests and other behaviour.

Kathpalia was appointed operations director in June 2017. According to the job description at the time, he is responsible for flight operations, ground operations, and flight safety and training operations.

It is unclear if those remain the job specifications. It is also unclear if he will retain his position as operations director and stay on Air India's board.

Reuters

More For You

Covid inquiry begins probe into care home deaths

FILE PHOTO: A mother and daughter sit atop the Covid memorial wall on September 9, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Covid inquiry begins probe into care home deaths

THE Covid inquiry has started examining how the pandemic affected care services for older and disabled people, with families describing the crisis as one of the worst failures of the pandemic.

Nearly 46,000 care home residents died with Covid in England and Wales between March 2020 and January 2022, with many deaths happening in the first weeks of the outbreak.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

Keir Starmer speaks to members of the media during a visit to RAF Valley, on Anglesey in north-west Wales, on June 27, 2025. PAUL CURRIE/Pool via REUTERS

Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and Glastonbury organisers said on Sunday (29) they were appalled by on-stage chanting against the Israeli military during a performance at the festival by Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

During their show on Saturday (28), the duo chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in reference to the Israel Defense Forces, the formal name of the Israeli military.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan floods

A flooded street near Station Road after heavy rainfall in Hyderabad, Pakistan, on June 27, 2025.

Getty

Pakistan reports 45 deaths from flash floods and rain in monsoon onset

AT LEAST 45 people have died in Pakistan over the past few days due to flash flooding and heavy rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon season, according to disaster management officials on Sunday.

The highest number of deaths was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. There, 21 people were killed, including 10 children.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Weather Alert: June Heatwave to Hit 34°C, Breaking Records

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record

iStock

UK set for one of the hottest June days with highs of 34°C

Key points

  • Temperatures may hit 34°C in Greater London and Bedfordshire
  • Amber alert in place across five regions due to health risks
  • Wimbledon’s opening day to be hottest on record
  • Risk of wildfires in London labelled “severe”
  • Scotland and Northern Ireland remain cooler

Hottest June day in years expected as second UK heatwave peaks

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record, with temperatures expected to reach 34°C on Monday (30 June). The ongoing heatwave, now in its fourth day, is most intense across the South and East of England, particularly in Greater London and Bedfordshire.

Although there is a small chance of temperatures hitting 35°C, they are unlikely to surpass the all-time June record of 35.6°C set in 1976.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Probing all angles in Air India crash, including sabotage: Minister

INDIA’s junior civil aviation minister said on Sunday that all possible angles, including sabotage, were being looked into as part of the investigation into the Air India crash.

All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. Authorities have identified 19 others who died on the ground. However, a police source told AFP after the crash that the death toll on the ground was 38.

Keep ReadingShow less