India considers annual drug tests for all pilots after Air India incident

India's civil aviation ministry is considering a significant overhaul of its pilot drug-testing regulations, proposing that all commercial pilots undergo annual psychoactive substance tests. This potential shift from the current requirement of testing 10 percent of pilots annually was announced by Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The move comes in the wake of a serious incident involving an Air India flight earlier this month, where the pilot-in-command tested positive for marijuana.

The proposal is a direct response to the August 4 incident involving Air India flight AI2379, which was traveling from Phuket to Delhi. The Airbus A320 aircraft experienced a sudden altitude drop of approximately 300 feet over Odisha, resulting in injuries to 20 passengers and four cabin crew members. Seventeen of the 24 injured individuals required hospitalization. The flight was carrying 137 passengers, including three infants, and eight crew members. The incident was classified as a serious accident and is under investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

Following the altitude loss, mandatory post-incident drug screening revealed that...