An Air India pilot was sent back from the United States earlier this week after airport authorities found marijuana in his bag. The co-pilot had travelled as ‘staff on duty’ in the passenger cabin of a Delhi-San Francisco flight — set to operate the return flight. The arline said in a statement that it was taking “appropriate, strict disciplinary action” against the employee.

According to a Times of India report, US authorities had found marijuana in his bag soon after arrival in San Francisco. He was not allowed to leave the airport after the discovery and the airline was informed. Air India had subsequently decided to send him back to India on the next available flight and informed the DGCA about the situation.

What did Air India say?

The company said in a statement that one of its crew members had been found ‘inadmissible’ as per local laws while travelling from Delhi to San Francisco and sent back to India. The pilot had been set to operate a subsequent flight on April 14.

“Air India maintains zero tolerance towards any violation of the law and upholds the highest standards of safety, compliance, and professional conduct. Appropriate strict disciplinary action will be taken as per laid-down company policies. Ensuring safety, as always, remains Air India’s number one priority,” the airline said in a statement.

Air India takes disciplinary action against thousands

The incident also comes mere days after the airline initiated disciplinary action against thousands of employees over misuse of its leisure travel policy. According to a PTI report quoting sources, the airline had detected large scale discrepancies during an internal investigation and initiated several corrective measures. This reportedly included imposing penalties on the erring staffers.

Many employees were found to have misused the policy by showing those not related to them as relatives to avail the benefits. Some were reported to have even availed the free tickets and sold them to people at a higher price, the sources said. Sources told PTI in late March that the concerned employees had been asked to refund the amount taken fraudulently. Heavy penalties were also imposed on many of the staff who indulged in such practices.