The Director-General Of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is set to re-start the mandatory breath analyser (BA) tests for all pilots, crew and other staff involved in flight operations. The compulsory daily breath analyser (BA) tests were paused during the deadly second wave of the COVID 19 pandemic in India.

The aviation watchdog DGCA on Tuesday told ANI that they were monitoring the situation.

"The situation is improving and if there is no third wave, we will restore it to 100 per cent," DGCA told ANI.

Recently, Arun Kumar, the DGCA chief called a meeting for discussing several issues in which the mandatory breath analyser test was also discussed.

"The officials and stakeholders have been asked to submit a detailed report on this," the official told ANI. When asked how the breath analyser tests are currently performed at airports, the official said that the DGCA does random tests at the airports.

Air India's pilots' union and several other airlines had earlier written to the DGCA to stop BA tests as they increased the risk of infection during the outbreak of the COVID pandemic.