• No more alcohol for JAL-staff

    From Aviation HQ@2:292/854 to All on Sun May 31 12:04:39 2026
    Japan Airlines cabin crew are no longer allowed to drink alcohol during a stay prior to a return flight. The ban follows a drinking incident involving JAL crew. And it appears to be happening more frequently.

    This week, the airline announced that a flight scheduled to depart from Hiroshima in western Japan to Tokyo (JL 252) last Saturday at 7:40 a.m. was delayed by approximately forty minutes. As a result, 186 passengers were affected. The delay occurred after a flight attendant had consumed more alcohol the day before than is permitted under rules based on aviation law.

    The woman drank with a colleague in her thirties in the hotel lounge. In doing so, they violated the rules prohibiting alcohol consumption within 12 hours prior to the start of a shift.

    On Saturday, the flight attendant tested positive for alcohol during a self-test, but she did not report the result. Her alcohol consumption came to light through a test she was required to undergo at the airport. The colleague reported that she could not board because she was not feeling well.

    JAL has experienced several alcohol-related incidents in recent years. In August 2025, a male captain on an international flight drank too much before his return flight, after which the Ministry of Transport issued the airline a stern warning.

    Following the most recent incident, JAL stated that it takes the loss of public trust resulting from the incident extremely seriously.

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)
  • From Rug Rat@1:135/250 to Aviation Hq on Sun May 31 10:36:13 2026
    Company Policy will always get you.

    Even in the US this is one area where carriers are often more strict than the feds. Part 121 mandates 8 hours from bottle to throttle.
    Rules also state that crews performing safety sensitive duties must also be free from the effects of a hangover.

    US DOT regulations have a .04% BAC limmit for crew members, though Japan (and Korea have a .03% limmit even for passenger cars.).

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  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to Rug Rat on Sun May 31 22:08:04 2026
    Company Policy will always get you.

    I've flown a lot of airlines.

    Last time I flew Iberia I heard the "ping ping" from the cockpit and a bit later a flight attendant enters the cockpit with 4 of those tiny whiskey bottles and 2 glasses with ice.

    I mentioned "last time I flew Iberia" because indeed it was the last time. After that I refused to fly Iberia.

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)
  • From Vincent Coen@2:250/1 to Rug Rat on Sun May 31 21:57:56 2026

    Hello Rug!

    31 May 26 10:36, you wrote to Aviation Hq:

    Company Policy will always get you.

    Even in the US this is one area where carriers are often more strict
    than the feds. Part 121 mandates 8 hours from bottle to
    throttle. Rules also state that crews performing safety sensitive
    duties must also be free from the effects of a hangover.

    US DOT regulations have a .04% BAC limmit for crew members, though
    Japan (and Korea have a .03% limmit even for passenger cars.).

    The 8 hour rule only really applies to ONE or TWO drinks and even 12 hours will
    not be enough for any kind of heavier drinking session.


    Remember the rules are created to allow for any reason that the cabin is depressurised which therefore has change the air pressure and to above 33,000 feet so anyone with a hangover will be serious pissed.

    When I was an active flying instructor one of stunts was telling any budding pilot that I can get hi (or her but unfair) on only drinking ONE pint ( half a litre) of standard strength lager say 3.4 - 3.7).

    They would disagree and I then say OK you pay for the A/C hire for under one hour and if they were not pissed I would pay for it.


    No, never happened.


    Any flight crew drinking during a flight and yes came across some who had small
    glasses of wine with a meal - wont mention the airline but based in France.

    I do not believe this happens any more but will not fly with them since.

    Note one of the training procedures in the RAF was going into a compression chamber to see and feel the effects of altitude sickness.

    Another one was to have a small glass of beer and feel the effect at only FL 100 - lesson learnt.


    [FL100 - 10,000 feet ].


    Vincent


    --- Mageia Linux v9 X64/Mbse v1.1.7/GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20240604
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1)
  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to Vincent Coen on Sun May 31 23:59:30 2026
    Vince,

    Any flight crew drinking during a flight and yes came across some who had small glasses of wine with a meal - wont mention the airline but based
    in France.

    I was on a Lofleidir Icelandic DC8 flight KEF-LUX. The flight was erratic, so was the landing. After deplaning the captain and the co-pilot barely could walk.

    Friend of mine had her son killed in an airliner crash in Bordeaux. Pilot was heavily intoxicated. It was left out of the accident investigation report and she got an insane amount of money to shut up. Which she did. But her son remained dead.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Littoral_Flight_1919

    Air Littoral in Brussels was handled by KLM, and that friend of mine was on duty, she waved the flight with her son good-bye then went to work.

    After the plane crashed she got a call from Air France in Bordeaux "The 1919 flight crashed and most likely no survivors. Better prepare yourself for relatives comning to the airport asking questions". That's how she heard her son was dead.

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)
  • From Rug Rat@1:135/250 to Ward Dossche on Sun May 31 23:19:28 2026
    On Sun 31-May-2026 10:08p, Ward Dossche@2:292/854.0 said to Rug Rat:
    Company Policy will always get you.

    I've flown a lot of airlines.

    Last time I flew Iberia I heard the "ping ping" from the cockpit and a bit later a flight attendant enters the cockpit with 4 of those tiny whiskey bottles and 2 glasses with ice.

    Funny you should mention that. Air France policy allowed their pilots to consume a glass of wine with their meals, it was considered part of a propper meal.

    Rug Rat (Brent Hendricks)
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  • From Rug Rat@1:135/250 to Vincent Coen on Sun May 31 23:28:10 2026
    The former Asiana Airlines (Now part of Hanjin Group <KAL>) and it subsidiaries breathalized before every flight. In fact their pilot strike 5 or so years back was mainly to 1) Allow them to carry their gulf clubs as baggage, and 2) Drop the requirement for alchohol screening before each flight. If memory serves I do not think they got either.

    Though, their cockpit culture and training methods (NOT STANDARDS) are still Korea's number one issue. They may not have the frequency of incidents they did in the 80s and 90s, but when they have them, they're a doozie, and the Pilot Unions, Airlines (Cheobo's), and transportation ministry will usually find a convient scapegoat to say the pilots are not at fault.

    ASIANA 214 - It was the 777 A/T system.
    Jin Air 2216 - Aircraft hit a bird on approach, pilots shut down the wrong engine and collided with wall at the end of the runway. Korean's focus on the wall.

    I digress.

    Rug Rat (Brent Hendricks)
    Blog and Forums - www.catracing.org
    IMAGE BBS! 3.0 - bbs.catracing.org 6400
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    Ham's Over IP - 104196
    --- CNet/5
    * Origin: The Rat's Den BBS (1:135/250)
  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to Rug Rat on Mon Jun 1 09:40:10 2026
    Though, their cockpit culture and training methods (NOT STANDARDS) are still Korea's number one issue.

    As a rule, I stay away from Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Russian airliners ...

    I've seen intoxicated Russians. The one time I let my daughter fly Aeroflot to China was when I knew the cockpit crews of their 777s at that time were German.

    I may have told this before, but one time I was queueing for immigration either at SEATAC or MSP and over the PA came an announcement "Japanese translator for booth 11 (or 14)". That was where the flight crews went through and there was the captain of a Japan Airlines 787 waiting to be processed... his language proficiency of English was inadequate ... So I started staying away from Japanese airlines as well.

    Call me crazy? After they ridiculed the findings of thorough accident investigation teams I started to avoid Egyptian and Turkish as well. That was after the Egyptian 767 suicide crash in the Atlantic and the Turkish 737 incident at Amsterdam when Turkey rejected pilot error after obvious faulty radio altimeter readings and the plane stalled at low altitude.

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)
  • From Vincent Coen@2:250/1 to Rug Rat on Mon Jun 1 15:53:16 2026

    Hello Rug!

    31 May 26 23:19, you wrote to Ward Dossche:

    On Sun 31-May-2026 10:08p, Ward Dossche@2:292/854.0 said to Rug Rat:
    Company Policy will always get you.

    I've flown a lot of airlines.

    Last time I flew Iberia I heard the "ping ping" from the cockpit
    and a bit later a flight attendant enters the cockpit with 4 of
    those tiny whiskey bottles and 2 glasses with ice.

    Funny you should mention that. Air France policy allowed their pilots
    to consume a glass of wine with their meals, it was considered part
    of a propper meal.

    Snap - that's the one !
    Have not flown with them since - just do not approve with drinking full stop on
    a flight and My rule is 12 hours bottle to throttle and that assumes light to moderate drinking (say 2 pints / 1.5 ltrs beer, 2 medium (175ml) glasses wine otherwise 24+ hours.

    Experience from flying with client what had a drinking session during a late evening and on the basis of staying for 2 nights only to find out he needed to travel next day after 12:00 - I was NOT a happy bunny - client was also a pilot
    and a lot younger so the first 30 - 60 minutes I was on oxygen and coffee - never did that again.


    Vincent


    --- Mageia Linux v9 X64/Mbse v1.1.7/GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20240604
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1)
  • From Vincent Coen@2:250/1 to Rug Rat on Mon Jun 1 16:00:52 2026

    Hello Rug!

    31 May 26 23:28, you wrote to me:

    The former Asiana Airlines (Now part of Hanjin Group <KAL>) and it subsidiaries breathalized before every flight. In fact their pilot
    strike 5 or so years back was mainly to 1) Allow them to carry their
    gulf clubs as baggage, and 2) Drop the requirement for alchohol
    screening before each flight. If memory serves I do not think they
    got either.

    Though, their cockpit culture and training methods (NOT STANDARDS)
    are still Korea's number one issue. They may not have the frequency
    of incidents they did in the 80s and 90s, but when they have them,
    they're a doozie, and the Pilot Unions, Airlines (Cheobo's), and transportation ministry will usually find a convient scapegoat to say
    the pilots are not at fault.

    ASIANA 214 - It was the 777 A/T system.
    Jin Air 2216 - Aircraft hit a bird on approach, pilots shut down the
    wrong engine and collided with wall at the end of the runway.
    Korean's focus on the wall.

    Yes, I did find the story some what entertaining - they were already on my shit
    list for flying on, among a lot more :)
    I excluded here any USSR and similar who are auto excluded anyway.
    There is also the list banned from LHR via CAA on same lists :), hmm wonder
    why - Not .



    Vincent


    --- Mageia Linux v9 X64/Mbse v1.1.7/GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20240604
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1)
  • From Vincent Coen@2:250/1 to Ward Dossche on Mon Jun 1 16:05:32 2026

    Hello Ward!

    01 Jun 26 09:40, you wrote to Rug Rat:

    Though, their cockpit culture and training methods (NOT STANDARDS)
    are still Korea's number one issue.

    As a rule, I stay away from Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Russian
    airliners ...

    I've seen intoxicated Russians. The one time I let my daughter fly
    Aeroflot to China was when I knew the cockpit crews of their 777s at
    that time were German.

    I may have told this before, but one time I was queueing for
    immigration either at SEATAC or MSP and over the PA came an
    announcement "Japanese translator for booth 11 (or 14)". That was
    where the flight crews went through and there was the captain of a
    Japan Airlines 787 waiting to be processed... his language proficiency
    of English was inadequate ... So I started staying away from Japanese airlines as well.

    Call me crazy? After they ridiculed the findings of thorough accident investigation teams I started to avoid Egyptian and Turkish as well.
    That was after the Egyptian 767 suicide crash in the Atlantic and the Turkish 737 incident at Amsterdam when Turkey rejected pilot error
    after obvious faulty radio altimeter readings and the plane stalled at
    low altitude.

    Using the RT in or outbound I am amazed at the number of aircrew who do not know English, same applies to many overseas where English is not primary language and despite the standard rule for it to be used every where for many countries they allow the local one to be used - I am thinking of a fair few in the EU. Jumping on the radio requesting current traffic (in English) some times
    produces frosty responses and no will not specify the countries involved but I am sure you can guess them.

    For one - going into Frankfurt with a lot older senior pilot ic he was asked if
    he had been there before and he said yes but did not stop.
    It all went very quiet for a few seconds then a number of FC just in tears :)

    Poor ATC guy had to have it explained...

    Vincent


    --- Mageia Linux v9 X64/Mbse v1.1.7/GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20240604
    * Origin: Air Applewood, The Linux Gateway to the UK & Eire (2:250/1)