China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) yesterday said it had fired a pilot who failed two alcohol tests administered before his flight was to depart on Tuesday at the Taichung International Airport.
It was the first time in 15 years that a China Airlines pilot had failed a pre-flight alcohol test given by airport authorities.
The two screenings administered on Tuesday noon showed that the pilot — identified as a citizen of El Salvador — had blood alcohol levels of 0.3 milligrams per liter (mg/L) and 0.28 mg/L, which exceeded the legal standard of 0.1mg/L, the airport said.
Photo: CNA
The pilot was a China Airlines employee who had been leased out to the company’s subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines (華信航空). He was to man the latter’s Flight AE-1817 to Hong Kong, Mandarin Airlines’ airport manager Yu Ming-de (余明德) said.
After the airport suspended the flight, Mandarin Airlines replaced the pilot with another, which delayed the plane’s departure by 15 minutes, Yu said.
Reports that the flight was delayed by two hours were erroneous, he added.
Following the incident, China Airlines said that from now on, it would require all its pilots to be tested for alcohol.
China Airline employs about 1,200 pilots, about 20 percent of whom are foreign nationals.
Though there have been several incidents where pilots were sacked or suspended after failing the airline’s own alcohol tests, the incident on Tuesday was the first time in 15 years that an airport authority caught a pilot drunk.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration said it is to investigate China Airlines and might fine the company between NT$600,000 and NT$3 million (US$19,750 and US$98,750) if management is found to be negligent.
The pilot might also be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, it said.
The agency will require China Airlines to test all of its pilots for alcohol as soon as Monday.
Additional reporting by CNA
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