An airline cabin crew member who turned up for a flight nearly seven times over the aviation drinking limit has escaped with a fine.
Lemara Thompson says she made a "horrible mistake" before she was due to fly in the summer.
The attendant, 27, admitted being over the legal limit while on duty for Delta Airlines on June 16.
Uxbridge Magistrates' Court heard on Thursday that officers were called to a control post at Heathrow Airport following reports that the US citizen smelled of alcohol.
Prosecutors said Thompson, from Brooklyn, New York City, had failed a preliminary breath test before further tests found her blood alcohol level was 135mg per 100ml of blood.
The court heard that the legal limit for performing an aviation duty was 20mg, compared with 80mg for driving.
Prosecutor Shann Sethi said: "Officers were called to a control post at Heathrow Airport to reports that the defendant, who is a member of Delta Airlines cabin crew, had passed through a security arch smelling of alcohol.
"She failed a preliminary breath test. A blood sample was taken and toxicology reports showed that she had 135mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
"She was almost seven times over the limit."
Dan Martin, defending, said his client had made a "horrible mistake" and was "extremely remorseful".
Mr Martin said Thompson had not been drinking that day but the night before, which was "unusual for her".
He added: "The defendant made, in her own words, a horrible mistake - she jeopardised everything she had worked so hard to achieve in life. She is extremely remorseful.
"This wasn't a case of her having drunk prior to the flight, she was drinking the night before, which is unusual for her.
"She made a great error of judgment in attending work the next day."
Mr Martin said Thompson had gone through disciplinary proceedings with her employer but had kept her job on condition she submitted to testing.
A panel of magistrates handed her a £548 fine and ordered her to pay £85 in costs.
