Two Delta flight attendants were removed from a flight on Friday after failing a random breathalyzer test. What’s shocking is just how much over the limit one of the flight attendants reportedly was.
Delta flight attendants fail breathalyzer test in Amsterdam
The Netherlands is known for conducting random breathalyzer tests of airline crews, as the country also has some of the stricter rules out there around crews drinking. For example, while many countries don’t allow airline crews to drink within eight hours of flying, the Netherlands requires crews not to drink within 10 hours (and this supersedes whatever policies individual airlines have).
On Friday, November 29, 2024, a routine alcohol inspection was conducted at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS). Of the 445 breathalyzer tests that were performed between 7AM and 10AM, a total of three crew members failed, including two crew members on a single Delta flight.
Specifically, the flight impacted was Delta flight DL49, scheduled to operate to New York Kennedy Airport (JFK), as first reported by @xJonNYC. Despite the two crew members not being able to fly, the airline was still able to operate the flight, just with more limited service. The flight was even on schedule.
And on the 29th, 2 FAs were pulled off duty from DL49 to JFK
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) November 29, 2024 at 5:20 PM
One flight attendant had a shockingly high blood alcohol level
The Netherlands ordinarily requires airline crews to have a blood alcohol level of under 0.02. As a point of comparison, the legal limit for driving in the United States is typically 0.08, so the limit is one-quarter of what it would be to drive.
How high were the blood alcohol levels of these two flight attendants? According to NL Times (thanks to @Jim__Douglas for flagging this), a male Delta flight attendant had a blood alcohol level of 0.024, so he was just over the legal limit. Then a female Delta flight attendant had a blood alcohol level of 0.143. That is outrageously high, more than seven times the legal limit for airline crews, and even nearly double the limit for driving in the United States.
Assuming the test was accurate, I just can’t wrap my head around that. This woman must’ve been visibly intoxicated, no? One would hope that her fellow crew members would encourage her to not fly, and to call in sick, or whatever, because this is just so beyond reckless.
For what it’s worth, this flight was scheduled to depart at 10:45AM, so it wasn’t a 6AM flight, or something. Was the flight attendant just out partying till the wee hours of the night? Was she drinking heavily right before the flight? Or how could that happen? I hope she gets the help she need so that she can make more responsible decisions in the future.
In addition to probably facing serious repercussions at work (including possibly losing their jobs), the flight attendants are also being fined. The flight attendant with the lower blood alcohol level was fined 275 euro, while the flight attendant with the higher blood alcohol level was fined 1,900 euro, the highest penalty allowed.
What’s pretty wild is that the third crew member who failed a breathalyzer (working for another, unnamed airline) had a blood alcohol level of 0.13, which is also very high.
Honestly, these results sure make you think that maybe these tests should be conducted more consistently globally. It’s irresponsible to be at all over the legal limit, but there’s a major difference between 0.024 and 0.13+. The fact that two flight attendants were between six and eight times over the legal limit is pretty awful.
Bottom line
Two Delta flight attendants who were supposed to work a flight from Amsterdam to New York ended up being removed, after they failed a breathalyzer test at the airport. One flight attendant had a blood alcohol level of 0.024, just over the legal limit. But the other flight attendant had a blood alcohol level of 0.143, more than seven times over the limit.
Are you surprised that two flight attendants were so far over the limit during these breathalyzer tests?
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