A pilot for a budget Indonesian airline has been fired after allegedly arriving for work drunk.
Captain Tekad Purna was stood down by Citilink Airlines on Wednesday after a number of passengers complained that he appeared to be drunk as his flight prepared to depart from Surabaya on the island of Java to the nation’s capital of Jakarta.
They became concerned by his slurred words and unclear announcements, claiming that he was talking incoherently during an announcement made prior to take-off.
A number of passengers decided to disembark from the plane as a result, according to the Jakarta Post.
CCTV released by the airport shows a stumbling, sunglass-wearing Captain Purna attempting to clear through customs at Surabaya.
As he pulls his bag out of the x-ray scanner, personal items are scattered across the floor and the security agents help him pick them up.
Citilink announced on Friday that Captain Purna has been fired for breaching procedures.
Two top executives of the low-cost carrier also resigned on Friday, accepting responsibility for the incident.
President director Albert Burhan and operational director Hadinoto Soedigno announced their resignations after a press conference in Jakarta yesterday.
“Pak (an Indonesian honorific) Albert expressed his intention to resign all of a sudden at the end of a press conference [on Friday] as a form of his responsibility [regarding the case],” Citilink vice president of corporate communications Benny S Butarbutar told the Jakarta Post.
Citilink is a subsidiary of Indonesian national carrier Garuda.
