Japanske flygeres drikkevaner..... - Curt Lewis

A Japan Airlines pilot has evaded blood-alcohol tests more than 100 times since last year The latest revelation adds to a series or drink-related incidents involving the airline's flight crew, including last month's jailing of a pilot in the UK A Japan Airlines pilot has evaded preflight breathalyser tests more than 100 times since last year, the company said on Thursday, adding to the series of drinking incidents involving the airline's flight crew. The latest revelation came as the government conducted an on-site inspection of the airline following the arrest of one of its pilots in London in late October who showed up for work with a blood-alcohol level well in excess of the UK's legal limit. Company officials said the 52-year-old captain involved in the last incident had not taken the breath tests because he thought they were not compulsory under the airline's regulations. The Japanese government plans to set more stringent rules for drinking by airline pilots. Alcohol tests are currently not mandatory in Japan and there is no set legal limit. According to Japan Airlines, the pilot in the latest case, who has flown 180 services since the summer of 2017, avoided taking breathalyser tests 110 times during that period. There were also 49 cases in which his co-pilots did not take breathalyser tests, it said. The company did not announce how the pilots would be reprimanded. A number of drinking incidents involving Japanese airline pilots have surfaced this year. The pilot arrested in London was about 10 times over the UK's legal limit and was sentenced to 10 months in prison by a British court late last month. Separately, Japan Airlines said in a news conference on Thursday that a high level of alcohol was detected in a breathalyser test taken by one of its female flight attendants earlier in the week, though she denied drinking any alcohol before duty. Alcohol was not detected in a test she took before boarding a flight from Narita airport to Honolulu on Monday, but two other cabin crew noticed her breath smelled of alcohol and demanded she take another test, the airline said. The second test detected 0.15 milligrams of alcohol in her breath, but the 46-year-old crew member said she had not drunk any alcohol since Friday and repeatedly used mouthwash during the flight. The airline said it will continue to investigate the matter. Japan Airlines does not currently have specific rules for drinking by flight attendants but said after the London incident that it plans to introduce breath tests for them as well as engineers. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2178982/japan-airlines-pilot-has-evaded-blood-alcohol-tests-more-100 Back to Top

JAL slapped with improvement order following alcohol incidents Japan Airlines Co. President Yuji Akasaka, left, responds to reporters after the company was given an operations improvement order, at the transport ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on Dec. 21. (Hideki Kitami) The transport ministry ordered Japan Airlines Co. to improve its operations specifically related to flaws in its breath-alcohol testing system that came to light after a recent series of alcohol-related scandals. The order, issued Dec. 21, is the first for JAL since 2005, when a string of safety problems emerged ahead of its collapse in 2010. In response to the order, JAL President Yuji Akasaka said: "We lost considerable trust from the public. I want to express my deepest apologies." Akasaka said that flaws with the breath-alcohol test system is a management issue and that the company will consider further measures to take responsibility, including disciplinary measures. The ministry pointed out that such flaws are a serious violation of Japan's aviation law and could lead to serious accidents. A JAL co-pilot was arrested in London in October after failing a breath test shortly before a flight to Tokyo, showing nearly 10 times the legal limit. It was later discovered that the first officer, who has since received a prison sentence, evaded an in-house breath-alcohol test before starting his duties, and that the two chief pilots failed to visually confirm the checks. In addition, although their flight required three pilots, only the two chief pilots flew the airplane, with the first officer scheduled for duty, which is against the airline's regulations. Based on a ministry inspection of JAL, it was also discovered that among alcohol tests conducted from August 2017, data records for 4,175 cases did not exist. There were also at least 197 cases in which tests were not conducted appropriately. In 110 of those cases, a chief pilot in his 50s deliberately avoided taking the test. The ministry also issued warnings on Dec. 21 to All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA) and ANA Wings Co., a subsidiary of ANA, and Skymark Airlines Co., as well as Japan Air Commuter Co., an affiliate of JAL, saying that their safety management systems are insufficient. On Dec. 20, JAL announced that a female flight attendant in her 40s on duty for a 7:55 p.m. flight from Narita to Honolulu on Dec. 17 showed an alcohol level beyond the airline's in-house limit. No alcohol was detected in a breath-alcohol test conducted two hours before she started her duties, and the flight attendant denied drinking any alcohol.