Hundreds stranded as US police quiz drink-probe pilot
An airline pilot, thought to be British, has been detained by police in Washington on suspicion of drinking alcohol.
The pilot, who has not been named, had been due to take 383 passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Washington to London’s Heathrow airport.
Last night’s VS22 flight had to be delayed and the stranded travellers were put up in hotels until a new crew could be found.
They were expected to leave Washington at 6.15pm local time today (11.15pm Irish time), arriving at Heathrow early tomorrow, 23 hours late.
Virgin Atlantic spokesman Paul Moore said today: “We can confirm that one of our pilots has been detained by Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority Police Department on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol.
“The safety and security of our passengers at Virgin Atlantic is our paramount priority and we operate a strict no-alcohol policy in relation to safety and operational areas.
“The pilot has been stood down from duty and will face an internal inquiry.”
He added: “The flight he was due to operate which was VS22 Washington to Heathrow has been delayed so we are putting our passengers into hotel accommodation over night.”
He could not confirm whether the pilot concerned was British although he said 90% were from the UK.
He said later: “We are now hoping to operate the service at 18.15 local time and it was scheduled to depart last night at 19.15 so there will be a 23-hour delay.”
The pilot was detained shortly before his flight after security screeners detected alcohol on his breath, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said.
He was escorted off the plane by airport police who were alerted by the Transportation Safety Administration, which suspected he was under the influence of alcohol.
