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Thanks folks. All very reasonable comments.
Testing for 'Due Cause' and 'Reasonable Suspicion' have been in place for ages in the UK without any problem, other than for those failing a test. It seems that some legislation requiring random pre-flight testing has filtered through and is now being applied. Not forgetting that the aviation limit is one quarter of the UK driving limit.
However, according to the tame 'favourite airline' captain in our pub, the difficulty is in the chosen process, which begs the question "When is your Crew Not a Crew ?"
Apparently you rock up for a trip, only to find your fellow pilot (who you may never have met before) may have been spirited away to the testing room for an indeterminate period of time. But you will still be expected to do all the office biz and catch the bus to begin the time-critical aircraft departure process on your own, pending arrival (or not) of the chosen one, who will have missed everything and thus will need to play catch-up in peace and quiet for a while.
Running the show on your own would not be easy if you're an inexperienced co-pilot or check or training or recency are involved. Inevitable delays, to say nothing of safety issues. He says he will blame IT for the delay.
So are any other UK airlines already doing, or about to introduce random pre-flight alcohol tests ?
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