Four Of Five Crewmembers Allegedly Intoxicated At Flight Time

An airBaltic flight scheduled to fly from Oslo to Chania was delayed by nearly five hours Saturday when four of the five crewmembers were removed from the flight for alleged alcohol abuse.

In a news release posted to its website, airBaltic said "flight BT7843 from Oslo, Norway, to Chania on the Greek Island of Crete was delayed by 4:45 hours due to its crew removed from operating the flight. According to the currently available information, four out of five crew are under initial suspicion for alcohol abuse, and they are now undergoing a careful medical examination to determine the actual blood alcohol levels.

"Safety is our top priority and airBaltic is in process of careful investigation of this situation," the airline said. "airBaltic has several layers of control mechanism to ensure the safety of all airBaltic-operated flights. Procedures are in place to ensure potential mistakes of human factor are addressed.   airBaltic has temporarily suspended the involved four crew until the investigation is completed.

"airBaltic thanks the Norwegian airport and police authorities for their contribution towards enforcing airBaltic safety principles.

"airBaltic apologizes for the inconvenience and delay caused to our customers. airBaltic reiterates that it has zero tolerance for diverting from the safety principles and, as soon as comprehensive investigation is completed, will evaluate additional safety measures in cooperation with aviation authorities."

FMI: www.airbaltic.com/en/airbaltic-on-the-flight-bt7843