Air Busan Resumes Pre-Flight Alcohol Testing for Cabin Crew and Maintenance Technicians

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Air Busan is resuming pre-duty alcohol testing for essential aviation personnel, which had been temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 period, to completely prevent alcohol consumption during work.

Air Busan announced on the 22nd that it will pilot the alcohol testing computerized system until the end of this month and reapply it to system workplaces starting from the 1st of next month.

The alcohol testing system requires essential aviation personnel such as flight and cabin crew, maintenance technicians, and flight dispatchers to self-test their alcohol level using equipment after personal authentication before performing flights or duties.

Air Busan was the first domestic airline to introduce and operate this system in July 2019 but suspended it from January of the following year due to the impact of COVID-19.

Personnel can only be deployed for duty after completing self-testing before work, and if the test result exceeds the standard level of 0.02%, the information is immediately sent via SMS to the manager, fundamentally blocking the deployment of intoxicated personnel to flight or work sites.

An Air Busan cabin crew member is conducting an alcohol test using the computerized system before flight duty.

Before reoperating the system, Air Busan also improved functions to completely prevent proxy testing by adding an automatic photo capture feature and implemented real-time notifications to inform personnel of alcohol testing before duty to ensure no intoxicated personnel are deployed to work sites.

An Air Busan official stated, “Regardless of whether alcohol testing is conducted, periodic internal training has fostered a culture of abstaining from alcohol before work, resulting in no cases of alcohol-related work violations or accidents to date. We will lead not only in systems and policies but also in cultivating a safety culture to become an airline more dedicated to the fundamental safety of the aviation industry.”