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Japan Airlines faces severe warning after flight attendants' pre-flight drinking causes delay

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has issued a severe warning to Japan Airlines (JAL) after two flight attendants violated alcohol regulations before a flight.
  • The flight attendants, including a supervisor, consumed alcohol within 12 hours of duty, causing a 40-minute delay to a flight from Hiroshima to Haneda.
  • The ministry cited JAL's inadequate safety management system and instructed the airline to submit preventative measures by July 17, following a similar incident last year.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has issued a severe warning to Japan Airlines (JAL) following an incident where two flight attendants violated alcohol regulations before a flight, causing a significant delay. The incident involved a flight from Hiroshima to Haneda on May 23, which was delayed by over 40 minutes.

Based on the facts above, it can be determined that they intentionally concealed the fact of violating regulations by drinking the day before duty.

— Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and TourismStated in the ministry's official warning to Japan Airlines, referencing the flight attendants' actions and subsequent inquiry.

According to reports, the two flight attendants, one of whom was a supervisor, consumed alcohol less than 12 hours before their duty, contravening JAL's internal rules based on the Civil Aeronautics Act. The supervisor reportedly delayed pre-flight checks to allow alcohol levels to decrease. Both attendants are said to have provided false statements during the company's internal inquiry, attempting to conceal their violation.

This indicates that its safety management system has not functioned sufficiently.

— Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and TourismDescribing the organizational failures within Japan Airlines that allowed the pre-flight alcohol violation to occur.

The ministry's warning highlighted deficiencies in JAL's safety management system, noting that the organization failed to adequately monitor the situation and determine the fitness for duty of the involved supervisor, despite reminders from other crew members. This marks the second time in recent history that JAL has faced such a warning from the ministry for alcohol-related violations, with a similar incident involving an international flight captain occurring last year.

JAL's safety awareness has still not been thoroughly implemented among all employees.

— Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and TourismPart of the official warning issued to Japan Airlines, highlighting ongoing issues with employee adherence to safety protocols.

In response to the ministry's directive, JAL has dismissed the supervisor and suspended the other flight attendant. Additionally, all 37 of the company's directors will face salary reductions. JAL has expressed deep regret over the repeated incidents and has been instructed to submit concrete measures to prevent recurrence by July 17.

Although we have continuously promoted preventive measures due to repeated drinking incidents, such an incident has still occurred. We deeply regret the seriousness of the situation and offer our sincerest apologies.

— Japan AirlinesA statement from the airline acknowledging the repeated violations and apologizing for the incident.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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