Following mounting pressure from the Japanese government, Japan Airlines (JAL) is proposing more stringent measures to be put in place to address alcohol-related incidents which resulted in multiple pilots being suspended and fired.

Kyodo News reports that Japan Airlines plans to increase liver function testing and may suspend pilots deemed high risk if their results fall below set levels. The new measure comes after Japan’s transport ministry reprimanded the airline, demanding that they put stricter measures in place to deal with intoxicated pilots affecting airline operations.

Japan Airlines is currently working with various stakeholders to develop a framework to best determine how to go about testing. So far, these measures will only be applicable to high-risk pilots.

Prior to this, the airline proposed that problematic pilots sign a pledge, agreeing to stay away from alcohol. However, this was met with strong opposition, resulting in JAL having to return to the drawing board.

In April 2024, the captain of a JAL flight from Dallas to Tokyo was cancelled after the captain was reported to be drunk and disorderly. The pilot’s behavior was disruptive enough that police were called to the hotel.

In December 2024, two JAL pilots exceeded the company’s recommended alcohol consumption limits, resulting in their flight from Melbourne to Tokyo being delayed by three hours. Both pilots were later fired following an investigation, and top executives were forced to take a pay cut.

Then, in August 2025, a captain of a JAL flight from Honolulu to Japan Nagoya admitted to drinking beforehand, resulting in a total of three flights being delayed, two of them by around 18 hours. The pilot in this instance also lost their job, and top executives once again suffered a pay cut. With these drunken incidents becoming regular, the carrier came under the government’s crosshairs.