Paisley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Two Canadian pilots charged with being drunk and disorderly as they prepared to fly a passenger jet from Glasgow to Toronto were on Tuesday released on bail by a Scottish court.
Jean-Francois Perreault, 39, and Imran Zafar Syed, 37, were arrested on July 18 as they were due to pilot an Airbus A310 plane, which carries up to 250 passengers, for Canada’s Air Transat.
In their first court appearance on July 19 they were remanded in custody, but in a second private hearing Tuesday they given bail on condition they give up their passports.
Perreault, from Ontario, and Syed, from Toronto, were charged under transport safety legislation covering alcohol and drug limits in aviation.
They also face charges of threatening or abusive behaviour.
In a statement last week, Air Transat — which rescheduled the affected flight — said it has suspended both pilots pending an internal investigation.
“Canadian and European rules and regulations that we are subject to regarding alcohol consumption are very strict,” said president and general manager Jean-Francois Lemay.
“Our own internal rules are even more stringent, and we do not tolerate any failure to comply.”
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