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| Image: thesun.co.uk |
During a trip from Rzeszow, Poland, to Stansted Airport, a member of Ryanair’s cabin crew was allegedly seen on camera downing a 187ml bottle of rosé wine and a double shot of whiskey.
After the plane successfully landed in the United Kingdom, the 26-year-old flight attendant failed a breathalyzer test and was arrested by local police on suspicion of performing an aviation function while intoxicated.
A passenger who spoke with the flight attendant passed a video of the flight attendant ‘necking’ the alcohol to The Sun newspaper.
The passenger told the newspaper: “I don’t know what he was thinking. I asked for a drink and when he came over he said to me, ‘Shush, don’t tell anyone but I will have one, too.”
“Then he started necking a shot of whiskey. He also had a 187ml bottle of rosé. He sounded drunk and looked like he had been drinking for longer than just on the flight.”
Lauda Airlines, based in Austria, operated the flight, which became a fully-owned subsidiary of Ryanair in 2019. The rest of the cabin crew did not appear to be aware of what was going on in the aft galley.
The crew member had an alcohol ration of 50mg per 100 milliliters of breath, according to The Sun. In the United Kingdom, the legal driving limit is 35 milligrams per 100 milliliters of breath.
Alcohol restrictions for aircrew vary from country to country, but in the United Kingdom and many other European countries, pilots and cabin crew are not permitted to consume alcohol within eight hours of operating a flight.
Even then, pilots must guarantee that their blood alcohol level does not exceed certain limitations. Blood alcohol limits for pilots are generally lower than for driving.
A spokesperson for Lauda said the crew member had already been sacked. “Lauda Europe has investigated a reported individual cabin crew breach of this strict policy,” the airline said in a statement.
“The cabin crew member in question no longer operates for Lauda Europe.”
On June 8, the team is scheduled to appear in court. If he is proven guilty, he might face prison time.