A flight from Texas to Japan had to be canceled after the flight's captain became intoxicated and "engaged in disorderly behavior" at the hotel where they and other crew members were staying, Japan Airlines said Tuesday.
The unidentified captain flew from Tokyo, Japan's Haneda Airport to Texas' Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on April 22. The captain's behavior at the hotel was not specified but was described as causing "inconvenience to other guests and hotel staff." The captain received a verbal warning from police at the hotel's request, Japan Airlines said.
The pilot was assessed and it was determined that the captain should not be assigned to the return flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Tokyo. The airline did say that the captain did not have a detectable blood alcohol level at the scheduled departure time for the flight, but it was decided that the captain should not fly out of "necessity to confirm the physical and mental condition of our operating crew."
This required an alternate crew to be flown in from Japan to Texas, the airline said, and the flight was canceled because of the "anticipated significant delay" to passengers.
Passengers on the grounded flight were informed that the reason for the cancellation was due to crew members experiencing "health issues." Arrangements were made for affected travelers to board alternate flights.
The airline expressed its deep regret to the impacted customers for the inconvenience caused by the flight cancellation. They acknowledged the gravity of the situation and assured that they would take necessary steps to prevent such occurrences in the future, while also striving to rebuild confidence in their services.
