ANA Group Pilot Made False Reports on Alcohol Drinking

January 8, 2019

Tokyo--All Nippon Airways, the core unit of ANA Holdings Inc. <9202>, said Tuesday that an ANA Wings pilot in his 40s made false reports on his consumption amount of alcoholic beverages and when he drank over his drinking scandal last week.

The group company pilot asked a copilot in his 30s to cooperate to lie and the copilot gave a false explanation, according to ANA.

ANA said that above-limit alcohol was detected from the pilot in tests conducted before a flight from Osaka International Airport at Itami on Thursday. The pilot was replaced for the flight and a total of five flights were delayed by up to one hour and 44 minutes, affecting a total of 677 passengers.

The pilot initially explained that he drank two 350-mililiter cans of a whisky and soda cocktail at a hotel in Osaka, western Japan, before 7 p.m. on Wednesday. That did not violate the ANA group's drinking regulations.

After being questioned about an inconsistent point, however, the pilot confessed that he drank a total of four glasses of beer and the cocktail at a restaurant until around 10 p.m. on Wednesday in violation of the regulations. He also admitted that he made false reports.

The copilot was drinking together with the pilot. The pilot asked the copilot to lie, worrying that his punishment would be heavy.

At the ANA group, another male pilot of ANA Wings caused a drinking scandal in October last year. He drank in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, the day before a flight and became sick and unable to board a flight.

As a result, five flights were delayed. The pilot was told to leave the company.

ANA Wings and ANA received a strong warning by the transport ministry in December. Jiji Press