Two Delta Air Lines flight attendants were ejected from an international flight after failing a breathalyzer test in Amsterdam on Friday.
Tested irregularly by Dutch officials before the flight to New York’s JFK International Airport, a female flight attendant allegedly showed a blood alcohol level seven times over the legal limit for workers and a male flight attendant failed with 0.02, an official familiar with the situation confirmed. .
The female Delta employee was fined 1,900 euros, or $2,000, and her male colleague was fined €275, or $290. A flight attendant from another airline was also fined €1,800 (about $1,900) for being 6.5 times over the limit and three people were flagged during a three-hour period in which the police checked 445 pilots and flight attendants at Schiphol Airport, according to Aviation A2Z. .
A spokesperson for the Atlanta-based carrier told CBS News that the incident did not affect the flight.
“Delta’s alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have zero tolerance for violations. Crews were removed from their scheduled duties and the flight departed as scheduled,” said a spokesperson.
European aviation laws prohibit alcohol consumption by flight attendants, and the Netherlands specifically prohibits pilots and crew from drinking within 10 hours of flight, A2Z reported. But the European Air Safety Agency warns that adherence to the “bottle maintenance” period of control does not guarantee compliance with the legal requirements for alcohol consumption.
In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration recommends eight hours between drinking and flying and that employees be removed from their jobs if the blood alcohol level registers 0.02 or more on the required test.
The island of Maryland struggles to cope with rising sea levels, erosion | 60 Minutes
“The Barn”: Murder in Mississippi, and evil lurking in plain sight
Ted Turner’s nature preserve: The well-refined “Heaven on Earth”