Two United Airlines Pilots Arrested for Suspected Intoxication

Image: United Airlines. (photo courtesy of Meinzahn/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus (Meinzahn/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus)
Image: United Airlines. (photo courtesy of Meinzahn/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus (Meinzahn/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus)
Rich Thomaselli
by Rich Thomaselli
Last updated: 3:40 PM ET, Sat August 3, 2019

Two United Airlines pilots have been arrested at the Glasgow, Scotland airport Saturday on suspicions of being intoxicated.

The two unidentified men, ages 45 and 35, were set to fly 141 passengers on an international flight to the United States. Their arrest was confirmed by Chicago-based United.

Both pilots are expected to be arraigned Monday at a court in Paisley, a Glasgow suburb, to face charges connected to Great Britain's transport safety laws.

United flight 162 was expected to take off for Newark Liberty International Airport at 9 a.m. this morning but was canceled.

A United Airlines spokesman told The Sun Online: "The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We hold all of our employees to the highest standards and have a strict, no tolerance policy for alcohol. These pilots were immediately removed from service and we are fully cooperating with local authorities. At this time, we are working to get our customers back on their journey as soon as possible."

It's not the first time a United employee was arrested in Glasgow over suspicions of being intoxicated.

On August 29, 2016, two United Airlines pilots were arrested for suspected intoxication before they were to fly 141 passengers from Scotland to the United States.

United officials confirmed the arrests, and the flight to Newark was delayed for 10 hours while the airline sought replacement pilots.

Heck, it's not even the first time this week that an airline pilot had been arrested.

Police arrested a Delta Air Lines pilot Tuesday after officers at a Minnesota airport smelled alcohol on his breath before he was scheduled to fly to California.

Airport police were called to the scene and found the pilot to be in possession of an alcoholic container, with officers saying in their report the unidentified Delta employee was suspected to be impaired.


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Rich Thomaselli

Rich Thomaselli

Associate Writer

Editor Associate Writer true 9281 14744 Rich Thomaselli has written for TravelPulse since 2014 and has been a professional journalist for nearly 40 years. His work has appeared in USA Today, the New York Times and New York Yankees publications. He is an 11-time writ

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