Photo: Shutterstock Japan Airlines has apologized after alcohol was detected during a pre-flight test administered to a cabin attendant scheduled to operate a domestic flight between Hiroshima and Tokyo earlier this month.
According to the airline, the incident occurred on May 23, 2026, before Flight JL252 from Hiroshima Airport to Tokyo Haneda Airport, one of the world's busiest airports. The cabin attendant involved was immediately removed from duty after failing the alcohol screening.
The airline explained that finding a replacement crew member took additional time, resulting in a delay of about 40 minutes for the flight.
“On May 23, 2026, alcohol was detected during a pre-flight alcohol test administered to a cabin attendant scheduled to operate Flight JL252,” the company said in an official statement.
Japan Airlines also revealed that an internal investigation later found that the cabin attendant and another crew member had consumed alcohol on May 22, the day before departure, in amounts exceeding company regulations.
The second cabin attendant had already been removed from duty before the flight after reporting an inability to fly for reasons unrelated to alcohol, the airline added.
Flight JL252 eventually departed Hiroshima at 8:22 a.m., instead of the scheduled 7:40 a.m. departure time, arriving at Tokyo Haneda at 9:39 a.m. The flight was operated by a Boeing 767 registered as JA613J and carried 186 passengers, including four infants.
“We offer our sincere apologies to our passengers and all affected parties for the significant inconvenience and distress this has caused,” the company stated.
Japan Airlines acknowledged that repeated alcohol related incidents involving staff have damaged public confidence in the carrier.
“We deeply regret that repeated alcohol-related incidents have severely undermined public trust in our company,” the airline said. “We view this matter with the utmost gravity.”
The company added that it plans to strengthen preventive measures and improve enforcement across the organization in an effort to prevent similar incidents in the future