On Oct. 23, All Nippon Airways Co said a 38-year-old pilot flew an Airbus A320 after drinking alcohol nine and a half hours before a flight in September last year in violation of its in-house rules that prohibit crew members from drinking within 12 hours of a flight.

ANA has suspended the captain from flying. Although the airline did not detect alcohol from the captain during its pre-flight inspection, it plans to severely punish him, ANA said.

According to ANA, the captain drank two jugs of beer and three cups of shochu and water with an acquaintance in Nagoya at night on Sep. 3 last year even though he was scheduled to fly the next morning.

He also drank beer until 10 p.m. that night at the hotel he was staying in, the airline said.

On the following day, he flew four flights including one from Chubu airport in Aichi Prefecture on 7:25 a.m. to Niigata airport in Niigata Prefecture.

On the advice of his acquaintance, the captain told the airline in this January that he had drunk before the flights, but later retracted the statement.

But he then admitted to violating the rules following the airline's investigation after his acquaintance reported the incident, ANA said.