Flight cancelled after airline co-pilot spotted 'walking unsteadily and smelling of alcohol'
A Portuguese airline has apologised after more than 100 passengers were left stranded at a German airport because of an allegedly drunken co-pilot.
The TAP Air Portugal flight from Stuttgart to Lisbon, Portugal, was cancelled at the last minute on Friday night after an airport employee spotted the co-pilot “reeking of alcohol and walking unsteadily” and informed airport authorities, a police statement said.
The 40-year-old man was found by police in a “highly intoxicated condition” after they entered the cockpit on Friday evening.
German authorities decided to keep the plane on the ground, though it was not immediately clear if the 40-year-old co-pilot was detained.
German news agency DPA reported that all 106 passengers had to be put up in hotels overnight after finding themselves stranded in Stuttgart.
TAP reportedly tweeted that they would only be able to fly to Lisbon on Monday as it was the first day with seats available.
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It’s not the first time a flight has been grounded due to drunken staff.
In 2016, an Air Transat flight from Scotland to Canada was grounded shortly before take-off after two pilots were arrested on suspicion of being drunk.
