Delta Flight Attendants Arrested at Schiphol Airport for Alcohol Violations

On the 29th of November, two Delta flight attendants were required to undergo breathalyser tests before they could board their flight. Dutch authorities arrested them after they blew over the legal limit.

The Netherlands cracking down on flight crews

Countries set maximum alcohol consumption laws that airline staff must adhere to before starting a shift on a flight. The laws in the Netherlands are very strict regarding this. In the Netherlands, crews that are flying out of the country can’t drink within ten hours of their shift. This law surpasses any policies set by airlines. While in the United States, they can’t drink eight hours before they fly out of the country. 

European Union members are required to conduct random breathalyser tests starting in February 2021. The authorities conducted an inspection at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) last Friday, the 29th, between 07:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. They did four hundred and forty-five tests on flight attendants and pilots. Out of these tests, three crew members failed the breathalyser. One of them working for an unnamed airline. The other two were Delta flight attendants, one male and one female, who were scheduled to work on the same flight.

How drunk were these flight attendants? 

In the Netherlands, the legal blood alcohol limit for a flight crew is 0.02. In contrast, the US and UK blood alcohol limit is 0.08. The male Delta flight attendant blew a 0.023, which is just over the limit. The female Delta flight attendant blew a  1.43, which is seven times over the limit. 

These two flight attendants were meant to be on a flight from AMS to JFK that originally was meant to leave Amsterdam at ten forty-five a.m. The authorities removed and arrested the two flight attendants before they could board the flight. Consequently, this incident delayed the flight. In the end, the incident delayed the flight by twenty minutes and the flight arrived in JFK before its scheduled arrival.

The unnamed flight attendant also blew quite a bit over the limit. Their blood alcohol returned at 1.30, forcing the authorities to also remove them from their flight. 

What happens to these flight attendants now? 

Delta has not released any comments about the two flight attendants’ future with the company. However, that does not mean the flight attendants didn’t receive any penalties. 

The authorities issued fines to all three flight attendants who failed the breathalyser test on Friday. The male flight attendant received a two hundred and seventy-five euro fine. The authorities issued his coworker a one thousand and nine hundred euro fine. Throughout this operation, this has been the largest fine the Dutch authorities have issued. The authorities fined the unnamed attendant one thousand and eight hundred euros. 

This story serves as a reminder for those working in the aviation industry, specifically flight crews, to be mindful of how much alcohol they consume before a shift. Otherwise, they’ll end up like these flight attendants, stranded in a foreign city and short a thousand euros. 

What did you think of this story? Were you shocked by how much the flight attendants blew over the limit? Let us know in the comments or on our Social Media!