JAL to Punish 5 Executives over Pilot Drinking Scandal

Tokyo, Jan. 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan Airlines, or JAL, will punish President Mitsuko Tottori, Chairperson Yuji Akasaka and three other executives over a scandal in which two pilots drank more alcohol than allowed by internal rules the day before taking charge of a flight last year, company officials said Friday.

Tottori and Akasaka will take a 30 pct pay cut for two months, the officials said.

On Friday, JAL submitted to the transport ministry measures to prevent a recurrence, such as drawing up a list of crew members who tend to drink heavily and keeping an eye on them.

"There was a wrong decision on an important point involving directors," Tottori told reporters after submitting the preventive measures. "We are deeply sorry." She also said that the company will remove Akasaka from the post of safety controller.

According to JAL and the ministry, the two male pilots drank alcohol in the afternoon the day before working on a flight from Melbourne to Tokyo on Dec. 1. They tested positive for alcohol in the morning of Dec. 1, but the company considered the possibility of errors in the tests and allowed them to operate the flight after delaying its departure by about three hours.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]