High in the Sky
The safety and security of air travel depends upon properly trained personnel, well-founded systems and procedures, and the application of a range of techniques to detect, identify, quantify and respond to both active and passive threats. Effective safety and security is built upon the integrity, reliability and performance of personnel performing essential duties. Recent events have illustrated how much the performance of airport personnel and airline crew can directly affect aviation safety.
The prevalence of drugs in the wider community is a sad fact of life. Consequently, substance abuse is a genuine risk to safety and security, to public confidence in transport and the well-being of the industry. It is important that airport and airline staff perform at their best. It makes sense to have a drugs policy and to test personnel for substance and alcohol abuse. This can now be done quickly, accurately with direct and measurable benefits.
Aviation has had many shocks in recent times and these have badly shaken the confidence of the travelling public and the commercial well being of the industry. Even relatively small incidents are sufficient to perturb an already uneasy travelling public, with catastrophic commercial consequences to airlines and airports. Recent incidents have demonstrated that, despite careful and intensive training, alcohol and drugs abuse does occur. In fact, studies have shown that substance abuse is more common than is generally believed. Substance abuse may occur within a small minority of the population, but the effects on the industry can be disproportionate. Like an accident, most airlines and airports cannot afford even one such (usually well publicised) incident. Even when incidents occur elsewhere, all airlines will be faced with awkward questions about their own staff. It is sensible to be proactive in such circumstances and have appropriate procedures in place.
Many operators have enacted new legislation enabling drug testing of a wide group of airline and airport personnel. Typically, such legislation gives powers to the police to carry out drugs and alcohol testing of flight crew, cabin crew, maintenance engineers and Air Traffic Controllers, when given due cause. These powers apply whether the individual is on duty or on Standby.
There have been several examples in recent times of these powers being exercised and it is likely that such testing will be extended –especially given the heightened interest in security. Under existing Health and Safety legislation, airports and airlines are well advised to introduce effective screening procedures.
A study showed that when airline pilots had to perform routine tasks in a simulator under three alcohol test conditions, the following results were obtained:
• 1st test: before any alcohol ingestion
• 10% could not perform all tasks correctly
• 2nd test: after reaching a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10/100ml
• 89% could not perform all tasks correctly, and
• 3rd test: fourteen hours later, after all alcohol had left their systems
• 68% could not perform all tasks correctly.
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