This is definitely not a good look for Air India, especially given everything we’ve seen at the airline in recent times.
What reportedly happened is that an employee at the airport’s duty free shops noticed the smell of alcohol coming from the breath of an Air India pilot. That person reported it to airport police, and subsequently, two breathalyzer tests were performed on the pilot, which confirmed that he had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit.
The airline eventually managed to roster a replacement pilot. While the flight was initially supposed to depart at 3PM, it ended up taking off around seven hours late, a little after 10PM. That’s actually sort of impressive, because I’m curious how exactly they went about rostering the crew. Was the initial crew (aside from the intoxicated pilot) otherwise still “legal” after a seven hour delay, or did they somehow swap the crew completely?
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
