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n the heels of the arrests of pilots using crystal methamphetamine, airlines operating in Indonesia boosted their commitment to preventing air crews from consuming drugs and alcohol for the sake of flight safety.

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia said it applied lower working hour requirements than those stipulated in governmental regulations to keep its pilots fit and healthy.

“The official regulation states a maximum of nine hours of work per day for pilots. We apply a maximum of eight hours of work per day,” said Garuda spokesman Pujobroto.

He added that the airline also provided 12–hour rest intervals for pilots before they flew, which was longer than the regulated nine-hour period.

He said that the airline had carried out regular random drug and alcohol checks on its pilots and crews for the last seven years.

“We randomly check all crew members, including ground crew, on a regular basis. [The checks] could be in Jakarta or in Denpasar, either before departing or after landing,” Pujobroto said, adding that the airline had never found its pilots or crews using drugs or alcohol during the checks.

The checks were also in accordance with international regulations demanded by countries serviced by Garuda.

Meanwhile, private airline Sriwijaya Air’s corporate communications senior manager, Agus Soedjono, said the airline had limited air crew work hours to guarantee the physical condition of its crews.

The airline would also conduct random checks on all of its crew members in addition to six-monthly health checks.

“Should we find crews using drugs, we will impose the maximum sanction of dismissal on them. We will never compromise [flight] safety,” he said.

Agus said that the airline would cooperate with relevant agencies to conduct the checks, adding that the company would not raise ticket prices to cover extra costs.

Separately, low-cost carrier Air Asia Indonesia’s communications manager Audrey Progastama said that the airline would discharge crew who were caught using drugs.

Audrey said that the airline had been consistently conducting random urine and health tests on its employees. “We are consistent in doing that,” Audrey said.

A Lion Air pilot, Syaiful Salam, 44, was arrested over the weekend in his hotel room in Surabaya, East Java, with 0.04 grams of crystal meth in his possession. He allegedly tested positive to the drug in a urine test. The Transportation Ministry has revoked Syaiful’s pilot’s license.

In cooperation with the ministry, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) carried out impromptu urine tests on 102 Lion Air crew at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Wednesday evening. The results indicated that none had consumed illegal substances.

Such tests are to be regularly conducted by the ministry, the BNN and airline operators at all airports across the country.

“We will continue to conduct random urine tests on the crew of all airlines operating in the country,” BNN spokesman Dwiyanto Soemirat said. He added that the test results would be reported to the ministry’s air transportation director general and the airlines.