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All Operational Malaysia Airlines Pilots Cleared in Mandatory Drug Tests

The move aims to restore passenger confidence by strengthening the group’s fitness-for-duty checks.

Overview

  • MAG said it completed mandatory screening of 100% of operational Malaysia Airlines pilots with all results negative, meeting its August 15 deadline.
  • The group began mandatory testing of about 2,840 Malaysia Airlines cabin crew on August 18 with completion targeted by September 3.
  • Sister carrier Firefly has screened more than half of its pilots and cabin crew with all results negative so far and expects to finish remaining tests by August 25.
  • The company launched the programme after a Malaysia Airlines pilot was detained in Jakarta on July 28 when Indonesian authorities found about 26 kilograms of MDMA in his luggage and urine tests showed cocaine and methamphetamine use.
  • MAG says it will keep continuous random testing, strengthen fitness-for-duty measures and cooperate with Malaysian and Indonesian probes, a step that regulators say could prompt tighter airport screening and oversight.