India, Aug. 25 -- The government is considering random drug tests for all pilots annually, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Tuesday, days after Air India found two pilots "non-negative" in its preliminary post-flight drug tests. Air India voluntarily began testing 100% of its pilots starting August 13. It came after the Air India pilot-in-command on an August 4 Phuket-Delhi flight was learnt to be positive in a confirmatory drug test.

Naidu said the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is consulting stakeholders on what the current rules say and how to ensure a strict policy around drug tests for pilots. "This consultation is ongoing," Naidu said. "There are multiple ways of approaching this test. So ri...