A Dubai-bound flight from Nepal was delayed by nearly 10 hours after the pilot was found to be under the influence of alcohol, officials said Monday.
FlyDubai flight FZ8018 eventually left Kathmandu with a different crew.
Crew members alerted airport officials that the pilot seemed impaired by alcohol less than an hour before the flight was scheduled to take off on Sunday morning.
"A breathalyser test showed he had consumed alcohol. A medical test confirmed the result," Raj Kumar Chettri, Tribhuvan International Airport general manager, told AFP.
FlyDubai's headquarters was informed and the flight with 154 passengers on board was suspended until the new crew arrived.
Authorities did not disclose the pilot's nationality.
A FlyDubai spokesperson said in a statement: "FlyDubai has a zero-tolerance policy on flight crew found to be in contravention of the regulations regarding alcohol consumption. In line with these stringent rules, we conduct random tests on our operational staff. We further insist that anyone suspected of consuming alcohol prior to flight duty must be tested.
"In accordance with that standard, the crew member in question was immediately tested and discovered to have a blood alcohol level above the legally acceptable level and was therefore immediately deemed unfit to fly."
