Alcotests to be introduced for pilots and cabin crew

Sample alcohol tests on airline pilots and cabin crew are set to be introduced, after the House Transportation Committee discussed the matter on Thursday.

The proposed law, which will bring Cyprus into line with the relevant European Union regulations, will bar people from flying airliners or working as cabin crew while drunk. Fines will also be levied on those who are found to be drunk by the tests.

After the meeting, committee chair and Dipa MP, Marinos Mousiouttas, said “it is understood that in the case of [someone being found over the legal limit], he will not be able to fly the plane if he is a pilot or be inside the plane if he is a flight attendant.”

He also described the law as “a matter of security.”

People selected for testing will be tested twice within 30 minutes, and both tests will have to be below a pre-determined alcohol level for the person in question to be able to work.

Mousiouttas said he expects the law to be brought before the House for a vote in November.