I hope this flight attendant gets the help she needs, because obviously this is bad situation…
In this post:
United flight attendant downs alcohol on transatlantic flight
A 56-year-old (now former) United Airlines flight attendant has found herself in court, due to her actions while working a flight from San Francisco (SFO) to London Heathrow (LHR) on October 17, 2025.
The veteran flight attendant had been at the airline for 26 years, but handed in her resignation following the incident. The woman had reportedly brought her own alcohol minis onboard (as opposed to taking from the onboard stock). She had reportedly been feeling “isolated” and was “dealing with grief” before the flight, so she downed some mini bottles of vodka “to calm herself down.”
Her colleagues noticed her behavior, so they phoned ahead to get assistance on the ground. She had to be treated by paramedics on the apron at Heathrow Airport. They “smelled alcohol on her breath,” and found she had low blood pressure. She was subsequently taken to the hospital and arrested.
She was found to have a blood alcohol level of 216 milligrams, compared to the legal limit of 20mg for flight attendants. So she was at nearly 11x the legal limit.
I hope this flight attendant gets the help she needs. Obviously it’s really sad to think of the circumstances that could cause someone to act this way, and to throw away a career of over a quarter century. Life is tough, and while what she did was terribly irresponsible, at least she didn’t otherwise directly harm others (in the sense that it’s not like she started attacking other people, or anything).
Former flight attendant faces fine, not jail time
In hearings following the incident, the flight attendant expressed deep regrets for what happened. She admitted to performing aviation functions while drunk, which could carry a sentence of up to two years in prison. But the court went easy on her — since there were no disruptions to the flight, the decision was made to fine her instead.
The judge stated that “we are not going to commit this to the crown court, we can deal with this here,” and that “you are not going to prison, we are going to deal with this with a financial penalty.”
It is interesting to see the contrast in the handling of these situations for pilots vs. flight attendants. When pilots are found to be above the legal alcohol limit in the UK, they’re almost always sent to jail for some amount of time. Meanwhile for flight attendants, the punishment is often not as severe.
While flight attendants also perform important safety functions, this definitely reflects that the jobs of pilots are taken a bit more seriously in terms of the immediate risk they pose if under the influence.
I will say, what I find curious here is that she reportedly brought her own minis on the trip. I suppose some flight attendants may just want to bring those for layovers anyway, if they enjoy a drink but want to save money. However, if she brought these minis, one certainly wonders if she did so with the intent of consuming them on the flight. Obviously she wasn’t in a good place mentally when this all happened, but still, that adds a layer of premeditation.
Bottom line
A former United Airlines flight attendant was arrested after drinking on a transatlantic flight. The veteran flight attendant had reportedly brought her own minis, and then downed them on the flight. Colleagues noticed her behavior, and paramedics met the flight. She was found to be at nearly 11x the legal alcohol limit for flight attendants, so she was brought to a hospital and then arrested.
Ultimately she didn’t get any jail time, but instead, is facing financial penalties. I hope this woman gets the help she needs, because life can be tough…
Anyone that is or has been a FA knows that this flight attendant did not bring her own minis to the flight :)
How many previous incidents which were ignored by other staff ?
It's amazing all the shit going on in the world and they arrest her for getting a little sauced up,they spend their life on a plane and probably don't go out much what's the big deal,it's not like she's flying the plane
Um.... A .216 is most certainly not "a little sauced".
1) I guess she brought her own minis so she isn't also charged with theft
2) I think it's safe to say that, if I had to choose, I'd prefer a drunk FA over a drunk pilot
What a sad story. The FA seems to have approached it reasonably after the fact so I think keeping this down to a fine by the court is appropriate.
That is obviously very dangerous behavior on a flight she is working and not acceptable. That being said, grief and addiction are hard things for a lot of humans to deal with I so I have empathy. Now she lost her longtime job on top of whatever else is going on. I hope she gets the treatment she needs to rebuild her life
The airline industry, IMHO, is better suited to people who don't use alcohol at all, than to people who consider it a normal part of their daily life, and have to "manage" consumption within rules, schedules, technical blood alcohol levels, and all the other factors put in place to square the circle.
Alcohol isn't actually necessary. It's amazing how embedded it is in the culture. I'm old enough to remember when the idea of not...
The airline industry, IMHO, is better suited to people who don't use alcohol at all, than to people who consider it a normal part of their daily life, and have to "manage" consumption within rules, schedules, technical blood alcohol levels, and all the other factors put in place to square the circle.
Alcohol isn't actually necessary. It's amazing how embedded it is in the culture. I'm old enough to remember when the idea of not smoking at all was outside the mainstream.
"Alcohol isn't actually necessary."
The quadrilian dollar industry question.
Is sugar and caffeine necessary?
People are abusing these two substances and no politicians are doing anything about it. They abuse these substances too. This makes opioid crisis look like a meme.
It's always best to seek help before things spiral out of control into a personal and professional disaster. Unfortunately her flying days are almost certainly over. It's an unnecessarily ignominious end to a (presumably) unblemished career.
I’ve never had a FA drinking on a flight. Now the debrief is a different story, but never in flight.
Give her a break. Who doesn’t enjoy a drink while on the job every now and then. I know I certainly do, especially when I’m scheduled to do multiple brain surgeries in a day…
Hell, ten ounces of rye for breakfast makes you a BETTER surgeon! Calms the nerves and steadies those hands so you're ready to teach that tumor or aneurysm a lesson it won't forget.
At 56 years old, she was probably the most junior FA on the flight. 69 seems to be about the average on United international flights.
Seriously? That’s your take away from this story?
I can't fault Engel for observing that as I too notice a lot of old FA on UA international flights which is unfortunate because a lot of my experience with overseas travel with UA is worse than my domestic travels. The overseas FAs in general are worse in attitude. Some of my weirdest attitudes are from FA who serve business.
If we ever experience a flight emergency, how about I take a cabin with 29 year old flight attendance and you take the one with 69 year old flight attendants. I hope you have a strong back to help them with the doors.
First priority should be making sure she is terminated and not allowed to work in aviation again….especially since FAs are there “for our safety”. Help can come after we ensure long haul flights aren’t staffed with drunks.
1) Read the piece
2) Comment
You skipped step 1.
1) Read his comment
2) Comment
You failed step 1. He said "...not allowed to work in aviation again" which wasn't addressed.
Shame... I know this person, and for the last few years, she has struggled with the sudden death of her fiancee. I hope she gets the help she needs...
Thank you. People don't realize that everyone has problems and find it so easy to criticize. Those who do should walk a mile in her shoes.
I tried to walk a mile in her shoes. I kept falling over because I couldn't walk a straight line
This is probably the only time TSA comes in handy.
That's probably why she's flying with mini bottles not those full size bottles.
Or booze in London is overpriced.
Mini bottles are easier to hide and drink discreetly.
You're right until the part where she downs 10x the limit.
You can't really hide drinking that much. So I don't think being discreet can be part of the reason.