Japan Airlines has imposed a complete ban on alcohol consumption during layovers for its more than 6,000 flight attendants after a senior flight attendant violated drinking regulations, delaying a domestic flight. The incident triggered on-site inspections by Japan’s transport ministry
The latest case took place on 23 May, when a chief flight attendant scheduled to operate a morning flight from Hiroshima to Tokyo, failed mandatory breathalyser checks before duty.
The flight attendant had worked with the airline since 1992 and had recently been promoted to the senior cabin crew role. After arriving in Hiroshima on an outbound service a day earlier, she met another flight attendant at the hotel bar where the crew was staying.
The two began drinking at around 5:30pm on 22 May 22, shortly before the airline’s 12-hour no-alcohol restriction before duty hours came into effect. But they continued drinking beyond the deadline.
Self-administered breathalyser tests
The airline has faced major alcohol-related controversies in the past and as a result, pilots and cabin crew members are required to undergo self-administered breathalyser tests before reporting for work. Employees are expected to record a zero-alcohol reading before they are cleared for duty.
The chief flight attendant later admitted that her self-test at around 5:45am showed alcohol levels of 0.23 milligrams. Despite the reading, she believed the alcohol level would drop before she reached the airport.
But a second mandatory breathalyser test conducted at the airport around 20 minutes later showed a reading of 0.11 milligrams. The airline allowed multiple retests but the same result was recorded repeatedly.
She was subsequently removed from duty for being unfit to operate the flight. The other flight attendant who had been drinking with her had already declared herself unfit to work. This left the flight short of two cabin crew members.
Though Japan Airlines arranged replacement crew members, the flight from Hiroshima to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport was still delayed by around 40 minutes.
The airline later held a press conference on 27 May where executives apologised for the incident and acknowledged the damage caused to public trust. Safety officials said the company would strengthen efforts to prevent similar cases.
Previous incidents
Japan Airlines has faced several alcohol-related incidents in recent years. In August 2025, a pilot was unable to operate a scheduled flight from Hawaii due to alcohol consumption, causing delays to three flights. In December 2024, two pilots attempted to conceal their alcohol consumption before a flight from Melbourne to Narita, resulting in a three-hour delay
In October last year, the airline said it will suspend high-risk pilots if their liver functions deteriorate beyond certain levels.
All these incidents have prompted warnings from the transport ministry which also required the airline to report on safety steps to avoid a recurrence of such incidents.
AloJapan.com