The 43-year-old air hostess, who had worked in the industry for more than 20 years, was found smelling of alcohol while attempting to get onto the plane, a court heard
A flight attendant has admitted to trying to board a plane at Heathrow Airport despite being more than 12 times the legal alcohol limit. Jessica Kostakopoulou, 43, told security that she hadn’t been drinking when they stopped her in Terminal 2 on March 22nd.
However, the then-Scandinavian Air employee appeared “unsteady on her feet and slurred her words”, prosecutor Reem Khatib told Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court. She also smelt of alcohol, Khatib said. Breathalyser tests revealed that the air hostess had 254 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in her system.
The legal limit is 20 milligrams, the court was told. Kostakopoulou, from Windsor, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to carrying out an activity, namely going through security, which was ancillary to an aviation function at the court on Tuesday.
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Lawyer Amber Pierce, for the defence, told the court that Kostakopoulou was not supervising the flight that she was planning to board, and “no direct harm” resulted from her actions. The court was also told that the defendant had a clean record and had been in the aviation industry for more than 20 years.
She quit her job as a flight attendant immediately after the incident, it was heard. Kostakopoulou was handed a £623 fine, inclusive of a victim surcharge and legal costs, which is to be paid in monthly instalments, the Daily Star reported.
She told the court: “I feel very ashamed and embarrassed about everything that happened. I’m trying to amend my ways now and start a new job. I’m very sorry.”
The news comes after a separate court case where it was said that a Virgin Atlantic flight attendant reported for duty four times over the alcohol limit after crashing her car on the way to Heathrow airport. Kathryn Scott, from Surrey, was removed from a plane on June 12th that was heading to Antigua via Barbados, after drinking the night before.
Scott had crashed her car at a roundabout and had to be driven to work by a member of the public after leaving her car at the scene, Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court was told on 19th August.
She was removed from the plane once her crash was reported to the police, the court heard. Scott said that she had been in an accident and had drunk two glasses of wine eight hours before the flight.
A test showed that she had 91mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, which is more than four times the 20mg legal limit. The court was told that she had been diagnosed with a liver condition, which meant that she may not be able to break down alcohol in the usual way. It was also heard that she blamed the crash on a steering problem with her car.
Scott denied a single charge of performing an aviation function when over the alcohol limit, and was bailed to appear in court for trial on December 11th.