"Are You Still Not Sober?"... Japan Airlines Delayed 42 Minutes Due to 50s Cabin Crew Member's Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol Detected in Retest, Replacement Crew Deployed

"Communication Difficulties Due to Hierarchical Structure"

The photo is not related to any specific content of the article. Pixabay

A Japan Airlines (JAL) flight was delayed due to a cabin crew member's alcohol consumption.

It is highly unusual for a flight to be delayed because a cabin crew member, rather than a pilot, was found to have consumed alcohol, necessitating the deployment of a replacement crew member.

According to Yonhap News on May 28, citing Japanese aviation media Aviation Wire, JAL officially apologized after Flight JL252 from Hiroshima to Tokyo Haneda was delayed by 42 minutes on May 23 due to a cabin crew member's alcohol-related issue.

An internal investigation found that the senior female cabin crew member in her 50s had consumed beer and wine with fellow crew members in a hotel lounge the night before, exceeding the regulated alcohol restriction period. Japan Airlines prohibits crew members from consuming alcohol within 12 hours prior to the start of work.

On the day of the flight, this crew member failed to report to the company after exceeding the alcohol limit in a pre-duty breathalyzer test at her accommodation in the morning.

Despite repeated recommendations from her colleagues to retake the test, she refused and proceeded to the airport.

When a subsequent test at the airport office detected alcohol, the company determined that she was unfit for duty and urgently deployed a substitute crew member. As a result, the flight departed 42 minutes behind schedule.

JAL explained that a "communication failure due to a hierarchical structure" prevented colleagues from strongly intervening with the senior crew member.

Previously, JAL had faced controversy over a series of pilot alcohol scandals. The airline received administrative guidance in the form of a "stern warning" from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in December 2024 and August 2025 for pilot alcohol-related incidents.

Following this latest incident, JAL announced that, starting May 27, it would impose a complete ban on alcohol consumption by cabin crew members at all domestic and international accommodations. The airline also stated it would take strict disciplinary action against the two crew members who violated regulations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.