Drinking Japan Airlines Captain Cancels Flights In Honolulu

Intro

Remember how I said Kam Air might be safer than Japan Airlines a few days ago? Well, I might have over-exaggerating a touch, but this is quite concerning to see...

The Details

A captain on Japan Airlines has been the center of attention recently, after he called in sick, admitting to drinking too much alcohol the night prior. On August 28th, he was scheduled to work the JL793 to Nagoya, but due to him not being able to fly, this caused a complete operational mess at Honolulu.

The original flight destined for Nagoya was due to depart at 2:20 pm. However, Japan Airlines borrowed a pilot from another 787 destined for Haneda, and the flight to Nagoya ended up going out about 2 hours late. Not bad, right?

Not really. Presumably, Japan Airlines thought that the captain would be fit to fly later on the flight to Haneda, but it turned out this wasn't the case. The flight to Haneda was supposed to depart at 4:35 pm, and ended up departing the next morning at 11:34 am. What a rough night for passengers...

The Japan Airlines 787 Business Class Cabin is quite nice

My Thoughts

Japan Airlines has long had a history with their pilots drinking, with flights getting cancelled last year to Dallas, and the instance when a pilot blew a 0.189 (which is sort of wild, lol). However, I have to say, I am very impressed by the captain here as he reported it, and was very honest about it all.

And, look, while I get that pilots should not have any alcohol in their blood when operating, I also understand that this is a tough life to live. No excuses, but perhaps there is a way to eradicate this issue, while also being understanding.

Anyways, the Japanese government has flown off to the Japan Airlines headquarters in Tokyo, and is investigating this issue. This is extremely serious, and I hope that Japan Airlines is able to get on the right track, as this isn't a one-off.

Final Thoughts

A captain for Japan Airlines recently called in sick, claiming that he had drunk too much the night before in Honolulu, in turn, causing multiple delays for Japan Airlines' flights back to Japan. While this has been an ongoing issue with the airline, I am glad to hear that the Japanese government is looking into this. Additionally, big ups to the captain, as that must have been a hard message/phone call to make...