News

Actions

British Airways pilot removed from flight in London under suspicion of being drunk

British Airways pilot removed from flight in London under suspicion of being drunk
Posted

A British Airways pilot was taken off a plane on suspicion of being drunk, officials said, before the aircraft took off from London's Gatwick Airport.

The pilot was removed and arrested Thursday night before the British Airways Boeing 777 departed to Mauritius. The incident delayed the flight's departure by more than two hours.

Police "received a report of a member of airline staff suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol at Gatwick Airport," a Sussex police spokeswoman told CNN.

"A 49-year-old man from Harmondsworth, West Drayton in Hillingdon, was arrested on suspicion of performing an aviation function when the level of alcohol was over the prescribed limit," the spokeswoman said.

The man was still in custody as of Friday night.

A British Airways spokesman said the airline was "taking this matter extremely seriously and are assisting the police with their inquiries."

"We are sorry for the delay to our customers," the spokesman said. "The aircraft remained at the gate until an alternative third pilot joined the flight crew. The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority."

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Tuesday

05/13/2025

AM Clouds/PM Sun

73° / 53°

4%

Wednesday

05/14/2025

Sunny

81° / 56°

0%

Thursday

05/15/2025

Sunny

87° / 62°

0%

Friday

05/16/2025

Partly Cloudy

89° / 60°

0%

Saturday

05/17/2025

Partly Cloudy

82° / 56°

1%

Sunday

05/18/2025

Partly Cloudy

79° / 58°

1%

Monday

05/19/2025

Sunny

86° / 62°

0%

Tuesday

05/20/2025

Sunny

94° / 65°

0%