20 Feb 2017
OTTAWA Canada on Friday called on domestic airlines to ensure that pilots show up for work sober, following recent arrests for drunkenness in cockpits.
“As a commercial air carrier authorised to carry passengers in Canada, you have an obligation to ensure that flight crew members are fit to fly when requiring them to carry out such responsibilities,” Transport Minister Marc Garneau said in a letter to carriers.
The minister said he was “very concerned” about an early morning incident in Calgary, 31 December, when a Sunwing pilot was found passed out drunk in his cockpit, with a hundred passengers on-board on a flight due to leave for Mexico.
The government reminded that it is a criminal offense for a flight crew to work within eight hours of consuming alcohol, or while under the influence.
Ottawa also noted that all Canadian airlines must follow civil aviation regulations and “ensure that their employees follow them.”
According to a transport ministry statement, Canada’s eight major airlines — which carry 90% of passengers in this country — have confirmed that they “have proper safety protocols in place to deal with alcohol and drug testing.”