Japanese airlines are taking firm steps, ranging from dismissal to salary cuts for company executives, after two of their cabin crew consumed alcohol and caused flight delays, while authorities gave a reprimand.
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on Friday reprimanded Japan Airlines Co. (JAL) and urged it to devise prevention measures by July 17 after an incident in which two flight attendants drank alcohol the day before a flight in May, which delayed a scheduled flight by about 40 minutes.
The plane was scheduled to depart from Hiroshima for Tokyo's Haneda airport at 7:40 am on May 23, but was delayed until 8:22 am, Kyodo News reported (13/6).
The head flight attendant had been drinking alcohol in the hotel lounge for more than the company's allowed time the day before.
After failing to report the results of an alcohol test conducted before heading to the airport, he was tested again after arriving and was found to have alcohol in his system, which led to him being dismissed from duty and replaced by another crew member.
Another flight attendant in her 30s reported feeling unwell and was absent from work, the company said.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the JAL female employees had given false reports in an internal investigation that they had not consumed alcohol, which violated company regulations.
The ministry determined that the two women - the head flight attendant, in her 50s, who was later fired by JAL, and another flight attendant, in her 30s, who was suspended - tried to cover up the incident.
The ministry said the incident showed that "awareness of safety issues is not fully guaranteed."
Meanwhile, in a statement on Friday, JAL announced that it was also taking firm action in the form of punishment for all board members, including a 30 percent pay cut for President Mitsuko Tottori for two months, saying they "take this matter very seriously and deeply apologize."
The latest incident follows several similar alcohol-related scandals involving the airline, which have led to flight cancellations and delays in recent years, including a case in 2024 in which a captain and co-pilot were found to have tried to conceal excessive alcohol consumption before a flight from Melbourne, Australia to Narita near Tokyo.
Last year, a flight to Japan from Honolulu was delayed more than 18 hours after alcohol was detected in the pilot's body, with two other flights also delayed.
Previously, the ministry had issued a business improvement order to JAL in December 2024 and issued a warning in September last year.
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