All Nippon pilots missed alcohol tests 500 times

TOKYO — There were at least about 500 cases in the past year in which All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines pilots failed to take preflight alcohol tests, the transport ministry has said. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry inspected the offices of the two airlines last month to probe how they were enforcing the rules for preflight alcohol tests. JAL and ANA group pilots had been found to be drinking excessively before flights in October. ANA conducted about 110,000 preflight alcohol tests at Haneda Airport between November last year and October this year, but there was no record of tests being conducted in 393 cases.