Japan to Ban Pilots with Above-Limit Alcohol Levels from Duty

December 20, 2018

Tokyo--Japan's transport ministry decided Wednesday to require pilots to have alcohol tests before duty and ban them from boarding the planes if their alcohol levels exceed its standards.

The move follows cases in which flights were delayed as pilots were unable to board planes after heavy drinking.

The ministry will set breath alcohol thresholds at 0.09 milligram per liter, a standard stricter than the limit of 0.15 milligram applied to drivers of vehicles or trains in the country.

The blood alcohol limit will be set at 0.2 milligram per liter.

The ministry will notify airlines of the new rule within fiscal 2018, which ends in March next year, urging them to follow the new rule.

Pilots will be banned from duty if the level of alcohol in their breath or blood is within the limit but there are risks that they will not be able to operate safe flights, ministry officials said.

Meanwhile, the ministry will continue to permit the consumption of alcohol more than eight hours before duty.

In a bid to prevent pilots from skipping such tests, personnel from other departments will have to be present at the time of tests.

The changes in rules include keeping a record of test results and using equipment that enables tests to be conducted more accurately.

According to the ministry, the legal limit of alcohol in breath is 0.19 milligram per liter in the United States and 0.09 milligram in Britain.

In October, a copilot of Japan Airlines <9201> was detained at Heathrow Airport in London as the alcohol level in his blood was far exceeding the legal limit before his duty.

Also in October, a pilot of ANA Wings, a unit of ANA Holdings Inc. <9202>, was unable to carry out his duties due to sickness a day after drinking beer and other alcohol in the city of Ishigaki in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. Jiji Press