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Home » Qantas » Qantas Flight Attendant Fired For Onboard Vodka Consumption
Qantas

Qantas Flight Attendant Fired For Onboard Vodka Consumption

Matthew Klint Posted onApril 5, 2019November 14, 2023 15 Comments

a woman wearing a pink and orange dress

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.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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15 Comments

  1. Patrick Reply
    April 5, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    Blameworthy? Maybe “blameless” is what you meant?

  2. Andy K Reply
    April 5, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    Typical Australian. They are the Irish of the South Pacific.

  3. Phil Reply
    April 5, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    Sure do love me some good vokda

  4. JC Reply
    April 5, 2019 at 1:05 pm

    mmmmm vokda 😉

    • Christian Reply
      April 5, 2019 at 1:23 pm

      I think that was intentional.

  5. James Reply
    April 5, 2019 at 3:47 pm

    You misspelled vodka on the title

    • Matthew Reply
      April 5, 2019 at 6:51 pm

      Thanks. They don’t teach Amurikans spelling.

  6. Paolo Reply
    April 5, 2019 at 6:48 pm

    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.

    • James Reply
      April 5, 2019 at 11:49 pm

      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?

      • Paolo Reply
        April 6, 2019 at 2:52 am

        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.

        • emercycrite Reply
          April 6, 2019 at 5:38 am

          She was stealing from her employer. That alone is unacceptable.

  7. emercycrite Reply
    April 6, 2019 at 5:36 am

    Qantas did the right thing.

  8. Dave Reply
    April 6, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    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.

  9. Mel brangan Reply
    April 6, 2019 at 4:41 pm

    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.

  10. Sarah Reply
    April 28, 2019 at 4:40 pm

    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.

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