Low-cost Emirati airline Flydubai has terminated the employment of a pilot who showed up to work with alcohol in his system.
The captain was scheduled to operate a flight from Nepal to the United Arab Emirates in July when he failed an alcohol test and was deemed unfit to fly.
The airline has since announced it has fired the pilot in question and emphasized its "zero-tolerance policy" in the matter, Gulf News reported on Wednesday.
According to media reports, a crew member suspected that the pilot, who has not been identified, was under the influence of alcohol before the flight to Dubai.
The pilot thus underwent an alcohol test that confirmed his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit. He was deemed unsuited to operate the flight and was substituted by a replacement crew, leading to a delay of over 10 hours.
The airline had confirmed the news in a previous statement, in which it apologized for the delay and assured that crew members are subjected to random alcohol tests.
"Flydubai has a zero tolerance policy on flight crew found to be in contravention of the regulations regarding alcohol consumption. In line with these stringent rules, we conduct random tests on our operational staff. We further insist that anyone suspected of consuming alcohol prior to flight duty must be tested," the statement read, according to Khaleej Times.
On Wednesday, a spokeswoman announced that the airline has terminated the contract of the staff member.
"Flydubai confirms that the pilot's employment has been terminated. The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority," she said, according to Reuters.
In another incident that occurred in June, an Emirati pilot drunkenly assaulted a stewardess and threatened to bomb an Emirates aircraft while he was off-duty. The 27-year-old pleaded guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance earlier this month.
