This story is not about shaming a flight attendant who has an alcohol problem. Nor is it to poke any sort of fun about a very sad issue. But it is to commend Qantas for doing the right thing.
A Qantas flight attendant with 31 years of good service was caught drinking vodka from the business class galley on a Qantas flight from Sydney to Johannesburg. In order to avoid detection, she had quickly gulped it down, but became visibly intoxicated and was taken out of duty by her fellow flight attendants.
When the flight landed in South Africa, she failed a breathalyzer test.
After an internal investigation, Qantas fired her on the grounds that she was derelict in her safety-critical role and because she consumed alcohol which belonged to her employer. She also initially lied about the source of the alcohol, claiming she had purchased it in a duty-free shop.
She appealed her dismissal, arguing that her dismissal was disproportionate to the crime after 31 years of blameless service. But the Australian Fair Work Commission dismissed her claim.
And that was the right move.
As the commission stated, the no-tolerance alcohol policy and swift termination provides “a degree of comfort that should an emergency arise the aircraft crew will not be under the influence of alcohol in responding to an emergency”.
CONCLUSION
Flight attendants consistently remind us that they are here for our safety. Placed in such a position of trust, there is no other viable response but an immediate termination. It sends a clear message that onboard drinking (and theft) will not be tolerated. It also comforts passengers.
I hope the flight attendant has sought the help she needs.
Blameworthy? Maybe “blameless” is what you meant?
Typical Australian. They are the Irish of the South Pacific.
Sure do love me some good vokda
mmmmm vokda 😉
I think that was intentional.
You misspelled vodka on the title
Thanks. They don’t teach Amurikans spelling.
No, no, no. This was far too harsh. The woman was going through a marriage breakdown. After 31 years of great service she deserved better treatment than this. She made a mistake, deserved punishment but should not have been fired. Counseling/support would have been more appropriate. Typical Qantas.
Hmm… Since FA primary duties are for safety of passenger, I believe being drunk on work for whatever reason is not acceptable.
It is ok tough, if FA were to serve and assists passenger during the trip. A little booze won’t matter. Everyone gets tipsy once in a while at work.
Which one you you choose?
I don’t condone or encourage it, but surely there are more than enough of them on the plane to deal with an emergency. After all, at any given time after a meal service , about half of them are in bed, fast asleep. I’m not sure that coming out of REM sleep would be any better than having someone who has had a Gin and Tonic.
She was stealing from her employer. That alone is unacceptable.
Qantas did the right thing.
I flew Delta to Russia in 2010. Both Russian flight attendants in the back of coach were very tipsy from drinking vodka – I don’t mean to sound too insensitive to safety, but how many sober flight attendants save lives in aircraft crashes versus tipsy ones?
I say reprimanded and not fired. Boeing, the pilots, and the mechanics are the real safety stop measures.
Don’t ever fly Qantas. My wife fell no compassion. Food rubbish never again. As for alchahol don’t even come around. If they do you can put it your eye.
Have you seen Qantas pilots lately? Always in Sydney’s Zephyr bar trying to pull some form of skirt, no matter what age or whether they are single/married, and building intoxication within a 12hr range of flying. Pilots should be breathalysers every time they fly.