EN1020

18 January 2001

The Article “British Airways sacks pilots seen drinking before flight”, talks about how pilots abuse the drinking rules set up by the airlines. One of the airlines, British Airways, announced that they had fired two of their pilots because they had been filmed while drinking and they were due to fly the very next day. The whole issue started when Channel Four broadcasted a program concerning the abuse of alcohol among pilots and crewmembers. The program showed several British Airways employees drinking, especially the captain who consumed ten pints of beer before he was due to fly. The rules presented in the article states that air crew should not drink for eight hours before a flight and should only in moderation during the sixteen hours before that. The article also brings up several other alcohol-related incidents concerning airlines, other than British Airways.

When I read this article I became very shocked and concerned, due to the fact that I travel a lot by air. I cannot understand how an airline company could be so irresponsible, when they have an obligation to the passengers to provide them with a safe journey. The best way to reduce any risks associated with alcohol, as it states in the article, “It’s the drinking culture in the airline industry that needs to change drastically”.

One of the best ways to do this is to introduce random alcohol and drug tests (British). To conclude this discussion, I would like to say that if you can’t handle the booze you’ll will always lose.

Bibliography

Work Cited

“British Airways sacks pilots seen drinking before flight”. United Press International, 17 January 2001: http://www.looksmart.com/eus1/eus65300/eus152744/eus585535/eus918433/eus64087/eus934180/r?liacihl=4

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