A BRITISH Airways flight attendant who downed bottles of wine to ease her stress was almost eight times the booze limit.
Deborah Merritt, 59, was seen wobbling on a three-hour flight to Heathrow from Malaga last month.
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Deborah Merritt was seen wobbling on a three-hour flight to Heathrow from Malaga last month
The BA flight attendant who downed bottles of wine to ease her stress was almost eight times the booze limit Credit: EPA
She was taken to the back of the cabin, where she was buckled into a seat for landing before being arrested when the Airbus A320 landed.
A test showed she had 70mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath — the legal limit for air crew is nine mcg.
Ghulam Ali, defending, said Merritt was dealing with a family incident and was feeling stressed.
He told Uxbridge magistrates: “She had a few bottles of wine the day before.
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“She thought it would be out of her system.
“She doesn’t eat so much.”
Pilot’s wife Merritt had an exemplary 37-year career at BA but was sacked after her arrest.
She told the court: “I’m devastated I won’t be able to do this job again.”
Merritt, from Basingstoke, Hants, admitted a drink-related charge based on a second breath test reading of 52mcg.
She was fined £768 with £392 costs.
