A flight attendant was taken for treatment after drinking more than ten times the alcohol limit of vodka during a transatlantic flight.
Margit Lake downed several mini bottles of the distilled beverage on board her overnight United Airlines flight on October 17.
The flight attendant said she had sneaked the alcohol on board to ‘calm her nerves’ while looking after passengers travelling from San Francisco to the UK.
But by the time the 56-year-old touched down at London Heathrow, her blood alcohol level was found to be 216 milligrams per 100 millilitres – well over the limit of 26 milligrams cabin crew are permitted while in the air.
Lake resigned from America’s fourth largest carrier days after the flight, having served 26 years with the airline, the Sun reported.
A court heard that paramedics boarded the Boeing 777 jet after it arrived at Terminal 2, where they found the cabin crew member smelling of alcohol and with a low blood pressure.
But Lake was spared a potential two-year prison sentence after it was found her intoxication did not disrupt the flight.
She was instead handed a £1,461 fine on top of a victim surcharge of £584 and £85 in legal costs.
Inebriety in the air is a constant concern for carriers, with the effects of alcohol thought to be worse at high altitude.
Drunk passengers can cost airlines tens of thousands of pounds due to flight diversions and compensating other delayed customers as a result.
Irish low cost giant Ryanair announced this summer it would slap a minimum £500 fine on passengers who cause flights to be disrupted due to aggressive or drunken behaviour.
Its longstanding and outspoken CEO Michael O’Leary expressed support for a ‘two drink’ limit at airports.
Drunkenness is also an issue that affects pilots, both inside and outside of the cockpit.
In May, an unnamed British Airways captain forced a flight to abort a takeoff after she was reported to have behaved aggressively towards staff while travelling in the cabin off duty.
Cabin crew reported the pilot was acting ‘as if very drunk’ on a plane flying from Edinburgh to Heathrow, just hours before she was due to take charge of another flight from the capital.
She was later suspended from flying with the airline.
Metro has contacted United Airlines for comment.
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