It has been reported by local media that an Air India commander was arrested in Sharjah on Saturday for being drunk before he was scheduled to operate a long-haul flight to Delhi via Kochi. After failing a breathaliser test, he was declared unfit to fly and detained. Flight AI934 eventually took off three hours late after the airline found a last minute replacement.
Although India pilots do not face a license ban when caught to be inebriated until the third time, pilots in the UAE can lose their license for five years if caught twice.