The Health Ministry and the Civil Aviation Administration are jointly drafting new health standards for civilian pilots.

The writing of the standard would include the establishment of medical centres and go to the appropriate agencies for approval as soon as possible, said Flight Safety Standard Office representative Bach Dang Dong.

However, he did not know when it would be finished.

The new standards are necessary because the ministry has neither set nor devised the methodology for checking the health standards for civilian air crew although Vietnam 's Civil Aviation Law says it must.

Military standards were applied before the administration was separated from the Defence Ministry in 1993.

The new administration's standards were initially based on those for military; European and pilots of the former Soviet Union , said its deputy director Lai Xuan Thanh.

But in 2000, it had issued a document that allowed the temporary use of the European JAR FCL3 standards for testing the health of Vietnam 's civilian pilots.

The document was used until early this year to test health for Vietnam Airlines pilots.

Although the European health standards required more details and were easier to apply than the pervious tests, some of its standards were not suitable for Vietnamese, explained the Flight Safety Standard Office's Dong.

For example, the highest blood pressure allowed for in the European standard was higher than that set for Vietnamese and his office had asked the ministry to approve an adjustment.

Vietnam Airlines deputy general director Phan Xuan Duc said the technical equipment available to pilots in flight meant the health requirements were not as high as in the past.

The JAR FCL3 standard suited society's development, he said.

Vietnam Airlines employs almost 700 civilian pilots including 500 Vietnamese. Vietnam has seven civilian airlines./.