DUBAI // Random alcohol and drug tests for local airline pilots and other staff performing "sensitive safety functions" are to be introduced by the UAE's civil aviation authority.
Many airlines follow this practice, which the General Civil Aviation Authority recommended in draft regulations four years ago. It will become an official requirement in November.
The carriers will be mandated to test at least one fifth of certain employees - that is, pilots, cabin crew, air-traffic controllers and ground engineers - at a frequency of their choosing, no less than once a year.
"From this year it will be effective," said Dr Nabila al Awadhi, aeromedical inspector for the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). "We will monitor the testing results."
She declined to say how many instances of drug or alcohol use have been recorded.
With 7,000 pilots working for local airlines, even a small instance of substance abuse could pose a problem, she said. And with such a diverse pool of aviation workers - coming from more than 150 countries - she said it was hard to know how common the issue might be.
"The prevalence of alcohol and drug use is high worldwide. Here, we don't have any national statistics regarding this," she said. "But by implementing this, we will find them."
Many countries such as the UK do not administer random tests, which can be costly to administer among a large staff. Instead they rely on "reasonable suspicion", which can net a higher percentage of positives.
In more than 100,000 random drug tests conducted in the US aviation industry in 2001, 0.60 per cent of employees tested positive, according to Paul Howgill, the head of aviation medicine training of the UK civil aviation authority, in a presentation in the UAE this week.
Among those chosen for reasonable suspicion, 9.4 per cent tested positive.
Aviation workers who violate the alcohol and drug rules will lose their jobs, but those who admit abuse would receive help, said Dr Awadhi. "The aim of this policy is not punitive. It is supportive."
A pilot for Emirates Airline, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak, said that since testing started about four years ago, he has been selected once. It was his only test in nearly 20 years as a pilot, most of them with Emirates, he said.
He said he was not aware of a problem of colleagues showing up under the influence, even if they might have had a drink within 12 hours before work, the limit set by the company.
"If you drink 11 hours and 59 minutes before - one glass of beer or wine - it's impossible someone will be able to trace that. And you can push this limit to six hours, five hours," he said.
But for anyone caught above the limit, "you are going to get fired 100 per cent," he said.
The major UAE carriers, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline, did not respond to requests for comment.
chuang@thenational.ae
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Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Royal wedding inspired menu
Ginger, citrus and orange blossom iced tea
Avocado ranch dip with crudites
Cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini club sandwiches
Elderflower and lemon syllabub meringue
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
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Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)