Japan Airlines top executives face pay cuts over crew alcohol violation

Dhaka: Japan Airlines (JAL) President and CEO Mitsuko Tottori and Chairperson Yuji Akasaka will each take a 30% pay cut for two months following a cabin crew alcohol violation that delayed a domestic flight and prompted a government inspection.

Akasaka will also be removed from his position as safety controller. Three other executives in flight operations and safety management have received disciplinary action.

The incident occurred on May 23, when Flight JL252, scheduled to depart Hiroshima Airport at 7:40 am for Tokyo Haneda Airport, was delayed by 42 minutes after a female cabin attendant tested positive for alcohol.

The attendant had been drinking with a colleague at a hotel lounge the night before, violating JAL's policy prohibiting alcohol consumption within 12 hours of duty. She tested positive during a self-check but did not report the result. A second test at the airport confirmed the violation.

JAL removed her from the flight and deployed replacement crew. A total of 186 passengers were affected. The colleague she had been drinking with also did not board, citing illness. Both had been scheduled to work the service, with one serving as chief attendant.

Japan's transport ministry conducted on-site inspections of JAL on May 28. In response, the airline imposed an immediate ban on cabin crew drinking during layovers before return flights.

This is not an isolated incident. In August 2025, a male captain on an international flight drank excessively before his return service, drawing a formal warning from the ministry. In December 2024, two pilots tested above the alcohol limit ahead of a Melbourne-to-Narita flight, delaying the service by over three hours.

In 2018, a JAL pilot was jailed after arriving for a London Heathrow-to-Tokyo flight with excessive alcohol in his system. Several executives at the time, including Akasaka, took pay cuts of up to 20% for three months.