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An easyJet pilot has been suspended after allegedly being found drunk and naked at a luxury hotel in Cape Verde.
The captain was scheduled to operate a flight from the West African island nation back to the United Kingdom the day after the incident.
According to The Sun, the pilot arrived at the five-star Melia Dunas Beach Resort and Spa on 4 August.
He reportedly engaged in a drinking session at a bar that extended into the early hours of 5 August.
It was at 2.30am that he was “seen stripping off” and proceeded to walk through the reception area before entering the gym and spa, the newspaper claimed.
The Sun did not name the pilot in its reporting.
It claimed that “stunned” easyJet passengers recognised the “paralytic” captain and raised the alarm.
He had been due to operate a flight back to Gatwick approximately 36 hours later, on the afternoon of 6 August, but easyJet confirmed a replacement pilot was found.
An easyJet spokesman said: “As soon as we were made aware, the pilot was immediately stood down from duty, in line with our procedures, pending an investigation.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority.”
EasyJet’s flights from Gatwick to Cape Verde are its longest from England, at 2,332 nautical miles.
The flights are scheduled to last about six hours.
Flight crew drinking incidents
In 2018, armed police arrested a British Airways pilot just before takeoff at Gatwick after the cabin crew raised fears he may have been drunk.
Attendants on the flight, which was bound for Mauritius, called 999 after allegedly smelling alcohol on one of the officers’ breath.
In 2019, a Delta pilot was arrested on suspicion of being drunk while onboard a full plane ready to take off.
He was arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when officers smelt alcohol on his breath.
And in 2023, a British Airways flight attendant was arrested “on suspicion of performing an aviation function when over the prescribed limit for alcohol”.
