by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:41 AM ET, Fri August 9, 2019
An attendant working on a United Airlines regional flight was arrested and charged with criminal public intoxication Thursday after passengers saw her drunk during the trip.
According to ABCNews.com, 49-year-old Julianne March of Waukesha, Wisconsin, was charged with a misdemeanor after passengers on a United Express Flight 4849 from Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, on August 2 reported that she appeared to be under the influence.
When the plane landed safely at South Bend International Airport, police boarded the plane and confronted March. The attendant began crying and when asked by officers what city she was in, she reportedly said Chicago.
March was administered a breathalyzer test that read 0.204, which is five times over the legal limit for flight attendants. The operator of the flight, Air Wisconsin, revealed that the accused employee had been fired due to the incident taking place during the probationary time period.
Passengers on the plane said the flight attendant refused to make eye contact as they boarded the plane and her speech was slurred during the emergency announcements. She was also observed bumping into passengers before ultimately passing out on the jump seat.
"We take safety really, really seriously and that includes being at work sober," Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson told ABC News. "In this instance, the airline took swift action. I wish that it had been something that had been caught before the flight attendant was on that plane, because we also believe in helping people who are dealing with substance abuse and can get into a track for recovery."
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