Stewardess acknowledges regret following endeavor to perform duties severely impaired by 12 times excessive alcohol consumption
In a surprising turn of events, Jessica Kostakopoulou, a 43-year-old flight steward from Windsor, found herself in court after an incident at the United Kingdom's Heathrow Airport, Terminal 2 on 22 March 2025.
Kostakopoulou, who has worked in the aviation sector for two decades and was previously employed by Scandinavian Airlines and Lufthansa, was accused of attempting to work while impaired by alcohol. The magistrates' court found her guilty of carrying out "an activity ancillary to aviation" while under the influence.
On the day of the incident, Kostakopoulou was found to be unsteady on her feet, with slurred speech and a strong alcohol odour. Despite initially denying having anything to drink, she later pleaded guilty. Breathalyzer tests revealed she had 254 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in her system, over 230 milligrams above the legal limit of 20 milligrams.
The court imposed a penalty of £623 (around €720), which includes a victim surcharge and legal costs. An arrangement has been made for the sum to be paid in monthly instalments. Kostakopoulou resigned from her role as a flight steward immediately after the arrest.
The incident comes at a time when the European Union's Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has proposed random alcohol tests for pilots and cabin attendants on flights out of the European Union, following the Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 disaster in 2015. In the US, the Federal Aviation Administration's "bottle-to-throttle" rules prohibit pilots from flying within eight hours of consuming alcohol, or with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.04% or more. Some US carriers impose an even stricter 12-hour abstinence period.
Unfortunately, this is not the first incident of its kind. In June 2025, a British Airways crew member was arrested on suspicion of being unfit for duty after dancing in the nude on a flight from San Francisco to London. In July 2025, a Delta Air Lines pilot failed a breathalyzer test in Stockholm, resulting in the cancellation of a transatlantic flight to New York City.
Despite the penalty and the public scrutiny, Kostakopoulou expressed her remorse and stated that she feels ashamed and embarrassed about the incident. She is trying to amend her ways and start a new job.
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