A Japan Airlines flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) had to be canceled after its pilot got drunk and engaged in disorderly conduct at the airline’s layover hotel in Dallas.
According to Japanese news outlet The Mainichi the 49-year old captain engaged in “disruptive behavior” at the layover hotel bar, prompting staff to call local police who then questioned the pilot and warned him not to cause further problems.
The Mainichi reported that the pilot had dined with other crew members at the hotel when they arrived in the city. The dinner started at 18:00 local time and continued until 02:00, when the pilot started to act in a disorderly manner.
Japan Airlines told the news outlet that it decided to cancel flight JL 11 on April 24, 2024 because it could not find a replacement pilot for the flight, which was scheduled to depart at 11:00 local time.
The airline made alternative arrangements for the 157 passengers to get to Tokyo.
An airline spokesperson told Business Insider via email that the decision to cancel the flight was due to the need to assess the captain’s physical and mental well-being, and not because the pilot was under the influence at the time of the flight.
“It is true that the captain consumed alcohol,” the spokesperson said, adding that “there was a sufficient interval between alcohol consumption and the scheduled duty time.”
This is not the first incident where an on-duty pilot became inebriated before a flight. In February 2019, an American Airlines pilot was arrested in Manchester, United Kingdom, for consuming alcohol over the prescribed limit before a flight. In March 2024, a Delta Air Lines pilot was jailed in the UK after failing an airport breathalyzer and blood test prior to his flight.
