Every once in a while there’s a story of a flight attendant showing up to work intoxicated. However, it’s not every day that a flight attendant drinks while on the job, and it even gets recorded on video.
In this post:
Flight attendant downs alcohol in galley
This incident, first reported by The Sun, involves a flight on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, from Rzeszow, Poland (RZE) to London, United Kingdom (STN). The flight was operated by a Lauda Europe Airbus A320, with Lauda Europe being a Malta-based wholly owned subsidiary of Ryanair.
According to reports, a passenger went to the rear galley to order an alcoholic drink. The flight attendant then said “shush, don’t tell anyone, but I will have one too.” At that point the flight attendant downed a miniature of whiskey plus a bottle of rose.
The passenger recorded this on camera, and noted that the flight attendant sounded drunk and looked like he had been drinking before that as well. While being filmed, the flight attendant both flicks off the camera (seemingly jokingly) and also says “don’t make it obvious,” clearly trying to hide his drinking from other staff.
I guess the flight attendant thought the passenger was okay with his drinking, because the passenger then asked to speak to the captain, and at that point the flight attendant was allegedly furious.
Flight attendant gets arrested on landing
Upon landing in London, the entire crew had to stay behind. Video footage of the incident was shared with police, and the crew was breathalyzed. It’s believed that the flight attendant had a blood alcohol level of 50 micrograms per 100 milliliters of breath. The legal limit for driving a car in the UK is 35 micrograms, so he was about 50% over the limit for driving (let alone for flying).
The flight attendant in question was arrested on landing, and charged with “performing an aviation function, namely being a member of cabin of an aircraft during flight, when their ability to do so was impaired because of drink.” He is set to appear in court on June 8, 2022. He was also fired from the company.
There’s no denying that flight attendants have put up with a lot during the pandemic, and have dealt with quite a bit of stress. On top of that, due to the way that Ryanair goes about hiring crews (using outside agencies, and having employees that technically work for third parties), not all flight attendants are necessarily that invested in the company.
That being said, there’s simply no excuse for being this reckless when you’re responsible for other peoples’ safety, and I hope this guy gets the help he needs.
Bottom line
A flight attendant at a Ryanair subsidiary was caught on video drinking during a flight. Rather than trying to hide this altogether, he instead decided to have a drink when a passenger requested one as well, and then downed two bottles of alcohol. The passenger wasn’t happy about this, and ended up reporting the staff member.
The flight attendant was breathalyzed after the flight, and ended up getting arrested and fired. What a story — like I said, I hope he gets the help he clearly needs.
Why the immediate rush to judgement the FA is an alcoholic? Somebody limps and you are all getting them a scooter for life pass?
Your comment indicates a complete lack of situational awareness. Please tell your mother to drop you on your head again. Perhaps your brain will be lodged back into place, you oik.
Do we have the video?
Is this illegal in the US?
I remember once on a tiny regional jet (SAAB maybe) our flight attendant was on the last flight of a full day of 30 minute hopper flights. She gave us free shots and had one herself.
It shouldn’t be a big deal if an F/A has a couple drinks to take the edge off. I’m sure I would need to sneak a dram here or there if I were a ULCC F/A.
Getting drunk is another matter.
The flight attendant should be given paid leave because of a disability, alcohol abuse. The passenger should be banned for life for filming inside a plane during a flight and not for a personal event, like a video of herself.
What?
If the rules say you shouldn’t drink you shouldn’t drink. I even hear stories about how employers don’t even acknowledge ADHD or high functioning autism which are likely even worse and more beyond one’s control (at least in the beginning) than becoming alcoholic so they don’t excuse symptoms of it, which could be as something like being late or unproductive.
I actually know a FA who showed up for work and failed a breathalyzer check. They sent her to rehab and she returned to work eventually. Don’t know if the fact that she had around 25 years with the airline at the time, was a reason for the rehab and not outfight firing.
I fope the Af/A gets the help the needs.
Zero tolerance. FA needs to get fired. Make this your rock bottom & go get help.
I really hope the help gets the f/a he so clearly needs.
I really hope this f/a gets the help he so clearly needs.