Pilots are now granted the permission to fly if they are taking antidepressant medications as per the new U. S. Government policy that takes effect Monday, dropping a decades-old ban on four drugs.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday posted that it was removing a ban on the use of antidepressants for pilots with mild to moderate depression.

To be allowed to fly, pilots who undertake the drugs are obliged to pass screening tests in a view to show that they have been successfully treated for at least a year.

"We have a better understanding of the drugs", FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said. "We know more about the illness, we know more about how to treat it".

The side effects associated with the drug used to treat depression, such as drowsiness, are revealed not to pose a safety threat, the Federal Aviation Administration claimed Friday.

As per the new policy, pilots are granted FAA permission linked to four drugs namely Eli Lilly & Co.'s Prozac, Pfizer Inc.'s Zoloft or Forest Laboratories Inc.'s Celexa or Lexapro.