The Delta Air Lines pilot who showed up drunk at Edinburgh Airport in June 2023 was sentenced to ten months in prison by a Scottish court. The pilot pleaded guilty during the trial.

In June 2023, the experienced Delta pilot was scheduled to command a passenger flight from Edinburgh to New York. However, during a routine check he was found to be heavily intoxicated. There were also two large Jägermeister bottles in his hand luggage, one of which was open. The police immediately arrested the man. Delta subsequently suspended the now 64-year-old flight captain.

The case was recently heard in the relevant court in Edinburgh. The former airline captain pleaded guilty from the start, which was ultimately interpreted as a mitigating factor. He was also able to prove that he had voluntarily undergone therapy in the meantime. The court did not announce a decision after the first hearing date, but invited the verdict to be announced on March 19, 2024.

The former Delta captain was sentenced to ten months in prison and ordered to pay legal costs. It is still unclear whether the public prosecutor and/or the person concerned will lodge an appeal against the court's decision. No explanations were given in this regard. The prison sentence should not be suspended. However, a much higher sentence would have been possible, but the defendant's guilty plea and the fact that he had already undergone therapy were interpreted as mitigating factors.

In June 2023, the man was supposed to be in command of Delta flight DL209 from Edinburgh to New York-JFK. He would have been responsible for a Boeing 767-300ER, the passengers and the other crew members. But that didn't happen because he was caught during a routine alcohol check. Such checks occur much more frequently in the United Kingdom than in other countries. Delta Air Lines immediately suspended the man from duty and has since terminated his employment relationship. He has now also been criminally convicted by the Scottish judiciary.