Photo/Illutration JAL senior officials speak at a news conference in the transportation ministry’s building in Tokyo on Sept. 4. (Takashi Yoshida)

A Japan Airlines Co. pilot who violated company regulations by drinking alcohol before a scheduled flight in August was already on a JAL watchlist of employees with possible alcohol problems, sources said.

“We take this incident very seriously, especially as it occurred while we are working to prevent such issues from recurring,” a JAL official told reporters at a news conference on Sept. 4.

JAL banned pilots from consuming alcohol during layovers after a similar incident in December last year, and created the alcohol watchlist to prevent future problems.

The pilot in the August incident had already been placed on the list due to his regular imbibing habits and had assured JAL that he would quit drinking.

However, these measures did not prevent the pilot from consuming alcohol before a scheduled flight in Hawaii—which caused multiple flights to be delayed.

According to JAL, the pilot had been drinking at his hotel in Hawaii on Aug. 27 (local time), the day before he was scheduled to work a flight from Honolulu to Chubu Airport in Aichi Prefecture.

He reportedly consumed three tall cans (about 500 milliliters each) of beer—more than twice the volume previously allowed before the company’s alcohol ban.

The day of the flight, the captain reported feeling unwell to JAL headquarters, and the incident came to light.

Although a replacement pilot was arranged, three flights were delayed for up to more than 18 hours, affecting about 630 passengers.

Sources believe that the pilot had repeatedly violated the alcohol regulation. However, because he concealed the previous violations, the company was unable to identify any cases and discipline him before the August transgression.

In a similar incident in December, a JAL international flight captain and co-captain were found to have consumed more than the maximum amount of alcohol allowed the day before their flight, which the pair tried to conceal.

The company received a business improvement recommendation from the transport ministry because of the incident.

JAL responded by prohibiting pilots from consuming alcohol during layovers. It also created the alcohol watchlist to monitor and supervise individuals based on their drinking patterns.

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