The Delhi high court on Monday suspended breathalyzer test for aviation industry employees till 27 March amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The order was in response to a plea filed by advocates Piyush Sanghi and Khushbu Sahu for Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild. The test has to be conducted on people engaged in air traffic control service, aerodrome management, aircraft maintenance and repair, ground handling agency, aircraft operation to gauge alcohol levels of the staff while on duty.
The suspension is due to breathalyzer apparatus “used is never sanitized or sterilized after each use. Even a single ground staff who closely interact with the aircraft and passengers is a carrier of COVID19 (dormant stage) who in turn appears for breath analyzer examination, she or he can transmit the virus to the other staff members who are next in queue for the test by the usage of infected apparatus.”
