Japan will tighten rules for drinking by airplane staff following the arrest in London of a Japan Airlines Co. co-pilot for failing a breath test shortly before a flight and recent alcohol problems in the aviation industry, the transport minister said Friday.
"We will use all possible means to ensure flight safety," the minister, Keiichi Ishii, told reporters, adding the government will study the standards of other countries in implementing stricter rules for the industry.
Under the current Japanese system, aviation crew members are prohibited from drinking within eight hours of starting working but there is no law or regulation that sets a legal limit for alcohol consumption.
Breath tests are not even required. Airlines have their own rules and voluntarily carry out them, in contrast to the United States and Europe where legal frameworks are established, according to the transport ministry.
"Although we conduct regular or unannounced safety inspections for airlines, detailed drinking regulations are left to the discretion of each company," said an official at the transport ministry's aviation safety and security department.
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Alcohol in nabbed JAL pilot 10 times U.K. limit
The minister's remarks came after the co-pilot, Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, pleaded guilty to being over the legal alcohol limit at a British court.
The airline said Thursday the 42-year-old had been arrested by police for being about 10 times over the legal limit set under British aviation law after he drank two bottles of wine and more than 1.8 liters of beer over six hours from 6 p.m., the night before the flight on Sunday.
His heavy drinking also forced the company to operate the flight from Heathrow Airport to Haneda airport in Tokyo with two pilots rather than the normal three.
Believing that Jitsukawa might have improperly cleared JAL's own alcohol breath test, the airline said Friday it has changed its internal rules.
JAL said from now on it will involve airport staff in alcohol checks rather than getting pilots to test each other.
JAL had prohibited its pilots from drinking alcohol 12 hours before getting on their flights. Following the arrest, as a temporary measure, it ordered its pilots not to drink 24 hours before they start working.
"We want to review our internal regulations in accordance with the policy of the government," a JAL official said.
The co-pilot will be sentenced on Nov. 29, according to a British court official.
His arrest came after the driver of a Heathrow Airport crew bus noticed the smell of alcohol on the co-pilot's breath and alerted police, JAL said.
Due to the arrest, the flight's departure for Haneda airport scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday local time was delayed by 1 hour and 9 minutes.
The incident came to light after All Nippon Airways Co. on Wednesday apologized for five flight delays in Okinawa last week because a pilot became unwell after a night of drinking.
A number of alcohol problems in the Japanese air industry have become known in recent months. In May, a JAL flight attendant was caught sneaking a beer into a plane restroom and drinking it mid-flight.
