Reports follow introduction of more sensitive breathalyser tests in Japan and elsewhere
Japan Airlines (JAL) pilots have failed breathalyser tests on 19 occasions since August last year, Japanese media reported, as the country’s flagship carrier reels from the recent arrest of a co-pilot who was almost 20 times over the alcohol limit.
The failed tests caused delays to 12 flights, the Mainichi Shimbun reported, quoting unnamed JAL sources. The cancellations occurred after the airline introduced a more sensitive breathalyser test, the newspaper said.
The tests reportedly showed that 19 plots exceeded JAL’s in-house limit of 0.1mg of alcohol per litre of exhalation.
Katsutoshi Jitsukawa was arrested at Heathrow airport in late October and found to have 189mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, almost 10 times the 20mg limit for a pilot under British law.
Jitsukawa, who was arrested 50 minutes before he was due to co-pilot a flight to Tokyo, had drunk two bottles of wine and five cans of beer over a six-hour period the previous evening.
In response, JAL has introduced a new breathalyser system that involves airport staff rather than depending on pilots to test each other. It has also implemented a ban on alcohol consumption in the 24 hours before a flight instead of the current 12 hours.
