A Delta Airlines pilot was arrested in Scotland after he showed up drunk for a New York City-bound flight and forced the trip’s cancellation, officials alleged Tuesday.
Flight 209 normally leaves Edinburgh Airport at 10:35 a.m. SCT on a 7½-hour journey to John F. Kennedy International Airport, but it never got off the ground Friday.
The pilot, identified only as a 61-year-old man, was arrested at about 10 a.m. local time, police said.
He was booked on suspicion of violating the U.K.’s Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, which bars pilots and other transport operators from being impaired on the job.
The flight was “canceled and customers were reaccommodated on other flights,” Delta said in a statement.
“We apologize to customers impacted by this cancellation,” it added.
A Delta representative declined Tuesday to say whether the pilot was still employed or flying for the carrier.
“Delta is assisting the authorities with their on-going” investigation, the spokesperson said.
A representative of the Air Line Pilots Association declined Tuesday to say whether the suspect is a member or whether the union is providing any legal representation.
Delta operates daily flights from Edinburgh Airport to New York, Boston and Atlanta.
