A Japan Airlines flight from Dallas to Tokyo was grounded due to an incident involving the captain. The pilot, who had flown in from Tokyo, reportedly became intoxicated and behaved disruptively at the crew's hotel in Texas, causing inconvenience for other guests and staff. While the pilot reportedly had no detectable alcohol by the scheduled departure time, Japan Airlines determined the captain wasn't fit to fly due to the need to ensure the crew's well-being.
This decision, along with the need to fly in a replacement crew from Japan, caused a significant delay, forcing the airline to cancel the flight altogether.
Customers who had seats on the cancelled flight were told that the cancellation was because of "health issues" among the crew, CBS News reported. Alternative flights were arranged for 157 passengers.
"We sincerely apologize to the customers who were involved in this flight cancellation. We are fully aware of the seriousness of this situation," the airline said, adding that it would "thoroughly implement measures to prevent recurrence" of the incident and "work to restore trust in our airline."
The unidentified pilot enjoyed a post-flight dinner with crewmates in Dallas around 6 pm, but the festivities continued well past bedtime. The celebration moved from the restaurant to the hotel lounge and eventually, the pilot's room, where it reportedly got loud enough to prompt a complaint from a hotel employee at 2 am, the New York Post reported.
According to the Mainichi report, concerns about the pilot's speech and behaviour escalated to a call to the police. The pilot received a warning for disruptive behaviour but wasn't arrested.
Despite this, Japan Airlines deemed the pilot unfit to fly the following day's 1:05 am departure. Unfortunately, a replacement pilot couldn't be found in time, forcing the airline to cancel the flight entirely.
