A Japan Airlines flight bound from Dallas, US to Tokyo faced cancellation due to allegations that the pilot was too intoxicated to operate the aircraft. The pilot, whose identity remained undisclosed, reportedly consumed excessive alcohol while dining with crew members the night before the flight. The situation escalated when the pilot’s behaviour became disruptive, prompting hotel staff to involve authorities around 2 AM.
According to Japanese news outlet The Mainichi, police issued a strict warning to the pilot upon their arrival at the hotel. Consequently, due to the incident and the unavailability of a replacement pilot, the scheduled JAL flight from Dallas’ Fort Worth International Airport to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport at 11:05 am was cancelled. Approximately 157 passengers were then transferred to an alternate flight.
As of now, it remains unconfirmed whether the pilot faced penalties for his behaviour. However, Japan Airlines indicated that the pilot was deemed unfit to fly after an evaluation of his physical and mental condition. Although the pilot did not violate the airline’s rule against consuming alcohol within 12 hours of boarding, he was prohibited from flying as a precautionary measure. The captain stated that he was unaware of the pilot’s intoxication.
As per Business Insider, a spokesperson from JAL Airlines issued an apology and stated, “It is true that the captain consumed alcohol. There was a sufficient interval between alcohol consumption and the scheduled duty time. We sincerely apologize to the customers who were involved in this flight cancellation. We are fully aware of the seriousness of this situation. In order to prevent such an incident from happening again, we will thoroughly implement measures to prevent recurrence and work to restore trust in our airline.”
In 2023, a 63-year-old pilot of United Airlines pilot faced similar consequences after he reported on duty “drunk”. A French court issued a six-month prison sentence for the pilot, whose blood alcohol level was found to be around 0.132%, exceeding the legal limit for pilots in Europe. The pilot was also asked to pay 4,500 euros and his license was suspended for a year. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlights that alcohol severely harms a pilot’s ability to control an aircraft safely. Even at the level 0.04% or higher, pilots could make serious errors and can put passenger’s safety at risk.
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