TOKYO, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Japan Airlines Co. (JAL) announced Friday that it had fired a pilot for exceeding the legal alcohol limit by around 10 times prior to a flight in Britain last month.
The 42-year-old pilot was sentenced to 10 months in prison by a British court the previous day.
JAL said in a statement that it sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience and undue stress caused to all involved and that it would take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
The company also announced punishment for its top executives, including JAL President Yuji Akasaka whose salary will be cut by 20 percent for three months from December.
Japanese transport minister Keiichi Ishii said Friday that he hopes JAL will take the incident seriously and that the government will consider taking measures including administrative punishments against JAL.
Japan's two major airlines Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co., have both been under fire recently following instances of their flight crew being inebriated.
A pilot of JAL was arrested by British police last month after a test showed that his blood alcohol level was around ten times the legal limit in Britain before a London-Tokyo flight.
ANA has also come under fire after one of its pilots was found unable to fly for being sick after a drinking session in Okinawa.
Both companies have said that they will implement stricter alcohol tests for their pilots following the incidents.
Japan's current system prohibits pilots from drinking within eight hours of starting work, but there is no legal limit on pilots' blood alcohol level in Japan and breath test are not mandatory, as airlines maintain the rules on a trust basis.
