Japan Airlines flight canceled after captain got drunk and became "disorderly" at Dallas hotel

A flight from Texas to Japan had to be canceled after the flight's captain became intoxicated and "engaged in disorderly behavior" at the hotel where they and other crew members were staying, Japan Airlines said Tuesday. 

The unidentified captain flew from Tokyo, Japan's Haneda Airport to Texas' Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on April 22. The captain's behavior at the hotel was not specified but was described as causing "inconvenience to other guests and hotel staff." The captain received a verbal warning from police at the hotel's request, Japan Airlines said. 

The pilot was assessed and it was determined that the captain should not be assigned to the return flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Tokyo. The airline did say that the captain did not have a detectable blood alcohol level at the scheduled departure time for the flight, but it was decided that the captain should not fly out of "necessity to confirm the physical and mental condition of our operating crew." 

This required an alternate crew to be flown in from Japan to Texas, the airline said, and the flight was canceled because of the "anticipated significant delay" to passengers.

Customers who had seats on the canceled flight were told that the cancellation was because of "health issues" among the crew. Alternative flights were arranged for passengers. 

"We sincerely apologize to the customers who were involved in this flight cancellation. We are fully aware of the seriousness of this situation," the airline said, adding that it would "thoroughly implement measures to prevent recurrence" of the incident and "work to restore trust in our airline." 

In:
• Texas
• Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
• Japan
• Airlines

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.

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