Yes, Your Flight Deck Might Be Vaping In The Cockpit. Yes, Your Cabin Crew Might Be Over The Limit

Intro

Yesterday, I wrote about how an easyJet pilot had been removed from duty pending an investigation, as he was found roaming the lobby of a resort in Cape Verde naked. Well, over the course of my 1000+ flights in the last 20 years, I wanted to provide a look into the “dark side” of aviation. 

This is not a post in an attempt to call out the cabin crew or the flight deck; I am simply sharing something that is rarely talked about. I also want to add that at least 99% of the time, the crew as a whole is not under any influence, or vaping… 

Smoking/Vaping On Planes 

Roughly two years ago, I made friends with a first officer who worked for a very famous carrier in East Asia. The First Officer began telling me what it was like behind the scenes of being a long-haul pilot, and some things blew my mind. 

The first story she told me was this: “Roughly 3 months into working on a widebody was when I first experienced vaping in the cockpit. After reaching cruising altitude, the pilot in command on the day began vaping next to me. I wondered what was going on, and he offered to let me vape as well. Since I do vape, I decided to take a few hits”. 

You'd be suprised to find out what goes on behind closed doors.

Now, this was not the first I had heard of vapes being used in the cockpit, and considering the size/prestige of this airline (I will not name it for obvious reasons), it might be more common than we think. 

Should This Be Allowed?

But should we condone this behaviour? In an ideal world, no one would smoke, and everyone would be somewhat healthier. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. Should this be allowed? Realistically, no, as it breaks the law in all regards. However, I would much rather a pilot have a few hits of the vaporizer than have nicotine withdrawals. Just saying…

I’ve also managed to make friends with plenty of cabin crew who have shared some very, let’s say, vivid stories. While it is a little bit more challenging/rare for the cabin crew to vape, incidents do still occur… 

Showing Up Under The Influence 

Now onto the drinking part of this, as this is where things begin to get more serious. There is a very strict regulation for the flight deck and cabin crew when it comes to drinking, as lives are at stake here. We know that over the past, Japan Airlines has frequently struggled with pilots who have flown intoxicated, but what if it is more common than we like to imagine? 

Alcohol is, unfortunately, extremely common across the whole world.

I reached out to another friend about this, who happens to be a pilot on a carrier within Asia. He said, “The majority of the time, I would never show up to work over the limit, but there are a few times where if I had been tested, I would have failed and been fired”. He continued, “Many of my colleagues would also have been fired as well, we like to go out the night before and have a good time”. 

Backs up exactly what my First Officer friend said as well… 

In terms of the crew? Well, I have seen this first hand, where I have gone out clubbing with a flight attendant, who also happened to be a friend, and then flew back the next day with them. Would they have passed the breathalyzer? Probably not…  It’s a frequent thing that occurs, and we all know it…

What To Make About All Of This?

Look, I want to start out by saying that working as a flight attendant or on the flight deck is a tiring and demanding job. You are frequently away from home, dealing with tedious passengers, and living life extremely “fast”, for lack of a better word. 

I have to say that I don’t think anything has been done about this yet, as there have yet to be any serious incidents (touch wood) in recent memory regarding intoxication/vaping. The crew should be able to go out and have a good time at their layover destinations, and that was one small part of why the FAs voted against the new United contract. 

However, all that to say, I think there are a few little regulations that I personally think would be beneficial. I do believe that the flight deck should be breathalyzed before every flight, or if they are flying multiple, once in the morning. We have a history in this world of being reactive instead of proactive, and I think this is important when you are in control of 300+ lives. 

At the same time, I think the cabin crew should get a little bit more leeway when it comes to this, as they are not technically fully operating the aircraft. Do I think it is necessarily a big deal if they blew a 0.03 an hour before boarding? No. Is it a big deal if someone blew a 0.29 while boarding has started? Yup. 

I don’t know, though, I am simply floating my facts from earlier, thoughts, and ideas here. If anyone has any input surrounding this, I would love to hear what you all think! I also think it’s important to point out that I am talking about a minority here, not a majority. Please don’t ever think that I am not eternally grateful to everyone who has operated the planes I fly on as a consumer. From ramp agents, to flight attendants, baggage handlers, check-in agents, and the flight deck (to name a few).

Final Thoughts

I thought this would be an interesting post to bring up, showcasing that there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Oftentimes, crew members are overworked, underpaid, and have little time to enjoy their layovers. So yes, some members of the flight deck have confirmed with me that vaping in the cockpit can occur, while other flight attendants/flight deck members have told me that they might show up over the limit. Thankfully, for the time being, there hasn’t been a recent incident stemming from this, but one has to wonder: could the less than 1% that do this eventually lead to dire consequences? 

What are your thoughts?