Singapore's civil aviation authority to tighten regulations on alcohol abstention for pilots

SINGAPORE, march 28 (Xinhua) -- The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced on Thursday it will tighten the regulatory regime on alcohol abstention to mitigate the risk of pilots operating under the influence of alcohol.

According to a media release from CAAS, the authority will implement the Airport alcohol Testing Programme (AATP) and commence random alcohol testing of pilots at Changi and Seletar airports on march 31.

It will set the alcohol abstinence standard at 0.02 grams per 210 liters of breath for pilots, and those who are found to exceed the standard will not be permitted to fly.

In addition, pilots found to be operating under the influence of alcohol may be subject to criminal penalties, of up to 50,000 Singapore dollars (about 36,878.5 U.S. dollars) and/or imprisonment of up to two years for the first offence, and up to 100,000 Singapore dollars and/or imprisonment of up to five years for repeat offenders.

The media release also said that Singapore Air Operator Certificate holders will be required to strengthen their alcohol abstention policies, and they will be required to implement an Airline alcohol Management Programme from May to proactively identify, manage and rehabilitate pilots with problematic use of alcohol.

Kevin Shum, director-general of CAAS, said in the release that the safety of aircraft operations, passengers and crew on board is paramount, and CAAS and the aviation community take a serious view of pilots operating aircraft under the influence of alcohol.

"The new alcohol testing and management programmes will help ensure that pilots' ability to operate aircraft is not impaired by alcohol," he added.