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UK Civil Aviation Regulations

These are published by the CAA on our UK Regulations pages. EU Regulations and EASA Access Guides published by EASA no longer apply in the UK. Our website and publications are being reviewed to update all references. Any references to EU law and EASA Access guides should be disregarded and where applicable the equivalent UK versions referred to instead.

Notifying positive tests for alcohol or drugs to the CAA

Guidance for operators on how to report a positive test to the Medical Department

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Assimilated Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (Air Operation) CAT.GEN.MPA.170 requires that the operator shall inform the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of any case of misuse of psychoactive substances by flight crew, cabin crew and other safety-sensitive personal under its direct control as soon as reasonably practical. AMC1 CAT.GEN.MPA.170(d) further requires the operator to inform the CAA Medical Department directly of any positive test result for psychoactive substances. Notification of a positive test result should be emailed to medicalweb@caa.co.uk and will receive automatic confirmation of receipt.

For flight crew, the email to the CAA should provide the individual's full name and their CAA reference number and / or date of birth, to be followed up by a CAA Medical Assessor.

For cabin crew, the operator should contact the individual’s aeromedical examiner (AME) or occupational health medical practitioner (OHMP) to instruct them to issue an unfit cabin crew medical report. This action must be confirmed in the email notification to the CAA, with the attestation holder's full name and date of birth. The operator should follow its internal procedures for managing the individual's employment and occupational health. To regain a fit assessment cabin crew will need to work with their AME or OHMP and comply with the provisions of their operator's occupational health policy.

Operators are reminded that it is an offence contrary to the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 to exercise (or prepare to exercise) licence privileges while being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Operators should consider their obligation to report any suspected offender to the police as a priority.

In the case of a third party suspecting the use or misuse of psychoactive substances, there are confidential processes for reporting and investigating an aviation safety concern or making a report under the CAA whistleblowing policy.

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