Past Administrative Dispositions and Administrative Guidance, and Measures

On January 24, JAL submitted preventive measures in response to the Business Improvement Advisory issued by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) regarding an alcohol incident involving two pilots on JL774.

We deeply apologize again for any inconvenience and concern this may have caused to customers and other concerned parties.

In May 2024, we received an Administrative Warning for an inappropriate incident occurred again in December. We take this matter very seriously, and under the strong leadership of the management, we do our utmost to restore the trust of our customers by restructuring the safety management system.

On Dec 27, 2024 we received an “Business Improvement Advisory” from the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism regarding an alcohol-related misconduct involving two cockpit crew members on JL774 (Melbourne to Narita International Airport) that occurred on December 1, 2024. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concerns caused to our customers and all relevant parties.

Although the flight departed after confirming that the cockpit crew's blood alcohol level was 0.00mg/l, it was noted that the crew had consumed alcohol exceeding the limit set for 12 hours before the start of flight duty, and inappropriate behavior by the crew was observed. Additionally, organizational and systemic issues were also pointed out.

We take the loss of trust from our customers and stakeholders very seriously, and the entire company is committed to preventing a recurrence.

On June 11, 2024, we submitted preventive measures to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in response to the “Administrative Warning” issued by the MLIT regarding a series of safety incidents related to our operations.

“Emergency Measures to Ensure Aviation Safety and Security” have been implemented in response to the aircraft accident at Haneda Airport on January 2, 2024.
Despite these measures, receiving an Administrative Warning from the MLIT regarding a series of safety incidents in our operations is an extremely serious matter, which we take very seriously.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concerns caused to our customers and all relevant parties.

Our top management will take the lead in restructuring our safety management structure with all employees, and by ensuring the implementation of measures to prevent recurrence, we are committed to regaining the trust of our customers and society in our operational safety.

On May 27, 2024 we received an “Administrative Warning” from the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism regarding a series of safety incidents related to our operations. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concerns caused to our customers and all relevant parties.

We take this Administrative guidance very seriously and will conduct a thorough inspection of our safety management system, implementing necessary measures accordingly. Our top management will take the lead in re-emphasizing the importance of aviation safety, and ensure that every employee maintains a high level of vigilance as we commit fully to further enhancing our safety measures.

Furthermore, for every flight operation, all our employees will prioritize safety, calmly and carefully verifying operations. If there is any uncertainty, we will pause, thoroughly adhere to basic actions and procedures, and strive for safe operations.

Regarding the measures to be taken ordered by the "Business Improvement Advisory for Ensuring the Safety of Air Transportation" issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on December 22, 2023, the report was submitted on January 16, 2024.

We take the Business Improvement Advisory very seriously, and all of us will work together to ensure that a similar situation will never occur in the future.

On December 22, 2023, JAL Engineering, Inc. (JALEC) received a Business Improvement Advisory from the Civil Aviation Bureau, MLIT in connection to discovery of multiple inappropriate cases in JALEC, which includes the case reported by JALEC and, cases discovered by the aviation authority through regular audit, subsequent interviews and on-site inspections.
We would like to express our sincere regrets to our customers and concerned parties, for any inconvenience and concerns caused.

We take the administrative guidance seriously and will report the causes and countermeasures to the MLIT after identifying them.
Please be sure that we are committed to make our utmost efforts for flight safety and to restore trust from our customers and the society.

Regarding the measures to be taken ordered by the "Business Improvement Order for Ensuring the Safety of Air Transportation" issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on October 8, 2019, the report was submitted on October 23. By reconstructing a safety system through the cooperation of management and employees, and by implementing measures to prevent the recurrence of inappropriate incidents related to drinking, we will strive to regain the trust of society and customers.

As of October 11, the President and Representative Director was appointed as General Safety Manager. With the president at the forefront and strong management will and leadership, we will work to eradicate incidents of inappropriate drinking.

In response to the occurrence of three pre-flight alcohol detection cases by flight crew since April 2019, today (October 8, 2019) JAL was issued the “Business Improvement Order for Ensuring the Safety of Air Transportation” and “Warning to the General Safety Manager’s Duty” by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
After receiving a business improvement order in last December, we are taking various measures to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. We take the current situation very seriously.
Going forward, we will examine measures to prevent recurrence, promptly take the measures ordered, and report the results to the Minister of MLIT.

We deeply apologize for any inconvenience or concerns caused.
We will work faithfully to thoroughly implement measures to prevent recurrence and to restore the trust of customers and society.

On October 23, 2019, we submitted a report on the administrative guidance (administrative warning letter) that we received from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on October 8, 2019.

We will faithfully implement the measures and make our utmost to reconstruct a safety system and restore the trust of customers and society.

In response to the pre-flight alcohol detection case by the captain of Japan Transocean Air flight 021 (Tokyo International Airport to Miyako Airport), today (October 8, 2019) Japan Transocean Air was issued an administrative guidance (administrative warning letter) by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). We deeply apologize for any inconvenience or concerns caused.

We take the current situation very seriously and reconfirm the cause of this incident, examine necessary preventive measures and report them to MLIT.
We will make our utmost effort for safe operations and to restore trust from customers and society.

A copilot assigned to JL3087 (Narita International Airport to Chubu International Airport) on September 12, 2019 was found exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit in the pre-flight alcohol test. He was removed from duty and replaced with an alternative pilot. The flight was delayed for 15 minutes and arrived 11 minutes late.
We deeply apologize for the recurrence of the incident since the previous pilot’s alcohol detection case.

The flight crew concerned shall be dismissed in accordance with the Company's internal regulations.
We will reinforce measures to prevent recurrence and restore public trust.

A copilot assigned to JL650 (Kagoshima Airport to Tokyo International Airport) on August 10, 2019 was found exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit in the pre-flight alcohol test. He was removed from duty and replaced with an alternative pilot. The flight departed on time.
The copilot will be severely punished according to internal regulations, on conducting an in-depth investigation.
We deeply apologize for the recurrence of the incident since the previous pilot’s alcohol detection case in June.

As this incident occurred amid the enforcement of alcohol-related measures, we take this matter very seriously and will reinforce measures to prevent recurrence and restore public trust.

On Thursday, June 20, 2019, the copilot who was scheduled to be on board Japan Airlines Flight 542 (Departing from Kushiro Airport and arriving at Haneda Airport) reported that an alcohol concentration exceeding the standard level was detected in a voluntary inspection at the accommodation using an alcohol detector leased by the company before going to work. In response to this report, the company stopped the copilot’s duty and promptly arranged a replacement.

The accident was reported at an early stage, and the impact on the operation was avoided. However, we take this matter seriously as a safety issue, and will investigate the facts and work to prevent a recurrence.

On Saturday, June 8, 2019, the captain of Japan Transocean Airlines flight 021 (Departing from Haneda Airport and arriving at Miyako Airport) detected alcohol levels above the standard during pre-flight alcohol tests. Therefore, it was necessary to replace the flight crew. However, since substitute personnel could not be arranged, this flight and the following Japan Transocean Air flight 556 (Departure from Miyako Airport, arrival at Naha Airport) were cancelled.
We sincerely apologize to our customers and other stakeholders for the inconvenience caused.

We are currently making company-wide efforts to strengthen the management of alcohol consumption by our crew. We would like to apologize again for this situation.
In order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, we will raise each employee's awareness of self-management and work to ensure that risks are eliminated from the workplace as an organization.

In this case, we will continue to investigate the facts and take strict measures.

Two pilots assigned to JL3057 (Narita International Airport to Fukuoka Airport) on April 25, 2019 failed to take the required post-flight alcohol test. This was found the next day, April 26, before departure of JL3515 (Fukuoka Airport to New Chitose Airport).
Their pre-flight alcohol tests for JL3057/April 25 and JL3515/April 26 showed that their alcohol concentration in a breath were within the limit (0.00mg/L). In addition, on the day of operating JL3057 and skipping the post-flight alcohol test, the pilots flew only one sector, remained in the cockpit during duty, were not served a meal, and according to hearings, it is assumed that they did not consume any alcoholic beverages aboard the aircraft.

We will enforce measures to prevent similar incidents.

A Captain assigned to JL876 (Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Narita International Airport) on April 29, 2019 was found exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit in the pre-flight alcohol test. He was removed from duty and replaced with an alternative pilot. The flight departed on time.

The Captain will be severely punished according to internal regulations, on conducting an in-depth investigation. As this incident occurred amid the enforcement of alcohol-related measures, we take this matter very seriously and will reinforce measures to prevent recurrence and restore public trust.

J-AIR received administrative guidance (Administrative Warning Letter) on April 9, 2019 from the West Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, MLIT, following an incident in which the on-duty copilot aboard JL2331 (operated by J-AIR, Osaka Itami Airport to Oki Airport) and return flight JL2332 (Oki Airport to Osaka Itami Airport) on March 5, 2019 (Tue.) failed to take the pre-flight alcohol tests before operating the flights.

We sincerely apologize for causing inconvenience and concern to our customers and persons concerned.
As this incident occurred while alcohol-related measures were in effect, we take this matter very seriously and will reinforce measures to prevent recurrence and restore public trust.

JAL established an in-house Verification Committee (hereinafter “Committee”) to examine the series of inappropriate alcohol-related incidents from a Group-wide perspective and discuss practical solutions to underlying problems. The Committee presented a report titled Verification Committee Report ~To Build an Unwavering Commitment to Safety ~ on March 27, 2019.

We sincerely apologize to our customers and related parties for the inconvenience caused by these drinking problems.
JAL will strive to rebuild its safety systems according to the Report and work determinedly to deliver safety and ease of mind to its customers and society.

On January 19, 2019 that a maintenance engineer of Fukuoka Airport Maintenance Section, JAL Engineering had slipped through an alcohol test by asking a colleague to take the test required under internal guidelines in his place.
In addition, it was found on March 5, 2019 that a copilot had skipped the pre-flight alcohol tests before operating JL2331 (Osaka Itami Airport to Oki Airport) and return flight JL2332 (Oki Airport to Osaka Itami Airport).

We see these incidents as serious safety problems as they occurred amid efforts to prevent recurrence, according to the Business Improvement Order and Business Improvement Advisory.

We sincerely apologize to our customers and related parties for the inconvenience caused by these repeated inappropriate incidents and will implement measures to prevent recurrence.

On December 21, 2018, JAL was issued a Business Improvement Order by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), and Japan Air Commuter (JAC) received an administrative guidance (Administrative Warning Letter) from the West Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, MLIT. Furthermore, JAL was issued a Business Improvement Advisory by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, MLIT on January 11, 2019, and submitted a report on necessary measures on January 18, 2019.

As an air transport operator that is entrusted with the customers’ valuable lives and property, we deeply apologize to aircraft users and related persons for the significant inconvenience and concern caused by these alcohol consumption problems. JAL has always put top priority on safety, but we acutely feel the responsibility of management, as our Safety Management System failed to function and prevent these incidents.

We will work faithfully to rebuild our safety systems and restore the trust of customers and society with the strong leadership and firm commitment of management.

On December 20, 2018, JAL received instructions from JCAB regarding the "Improvement of Alcohol Management of Cabin Attendants, Maintenance Engineers, Dispatchers, etc." On January 11, 2019, JAL submitted a report to JCAB on additional measures for alcohol management and alcohol training reinforcement.

We apologize for the recurring incidents, and taking these instructions seriously, we will strive to improve management, prevent recurrence and restore public trust.

An on-duty cabin attendant aboard JL786 (Narita International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu) on December 17, 2018 tested positive in alcohol tests aboard the flight. As a result of an internal investigation, JAL concluded that the cabin attendant had been drinking during the flight and submitted a report to MLIT.

We seriously take this matter, as the incident occurred amid administrative instructions to take stern action again alcohol consumption by crew members.
We sincerely apologize to our customers and persons affected for any inconvenience and concern caused by this issue.

The pre-flight alcohol test of a Captain assigned to JN3741 (Kagoshima Airport to Yakushima Airport) on November 28, 2018 showed that his alcohol concentration in a breath was above the prescribed limit.
As a result, the Captain was replaced and JN3741 departed Kagoshima Airport one hour behind schedule, causing delays of up to an hour and 3 minutes to four flights (including JN3741) scheduled to be operated with the same aircraft.

The JAL Group takes this matter very seriously as it occurred while rigorous alcohol-related measures towards its crew members were in effect. We sincerely apologize to our customers and parties concerned for any inconvenience caused.

JAC submitted a report on the progress of investigations and preventive measures to the West Japan Regional Civil Aviation Bureau, MLIT. We apologize again to our customers and related parties, and will make every possible effort to prevent recurrence.

On November 16, 2018, JAL submitted to JCAB a report on the progress of investigations and preventive measures regarding a copilot assigned to JL44 (London Heathrow International Airport to Tokyo Haneda International Airport) on October 28, 2018, who was arrested and detained for exceeding the alcohol limit under British law (Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003).

We accept the fact that the limit exceedance was not detected in the internal pre-flight alcohol test but by a report from a third person immediately before flight duty. We deeply apologize to our customers and all persons concerned for the inconvenience and concern caused by this incident. We will work determinedly to prevent recurrence and restore public trust and confidence.