Wiley,
Sadly, neither rumour nor conjecture. The only uncertainty on my part arises from the fact that I did not see these guys board the aircraft, that they did is the subject of 3rd party information. However I am pleased that this has shocked you as maybe the practice is (or was) not as widely spread as I had imagined. I don't know how long you have lived in Dubai, but the period I am referring to was from 1991 to 2000 although I am still a frequent visitor. Dubai during this period was a very different place from what it is today. In 1991 the majority of a relatively small ex-pat community congregated around certain bars in Bur Dubai and the Lodge and it was rare to see people you didn't recognise. At this time I lived in the Hyatt Galleria and later during the mentioned time frame frequently visited a certain bar just behind 5 towers (they were considered to be towers when built) on Sheikh Zayed Rd. Depending on how long you have been in Dubai you may or may not know the significance of these 2 venues.
My own recollectons in conjunction with reading this thread prompted me to post and I am trying, successfully or not, to raise questions in order to elicit an informed response.
JO
I find it hard to believe that my arguments are flawed as I have offered none. I proffered a set of scenarios and asked for answers. I did put forward my opinion that maybe Professional Athletes are treated a little harshly. Typically, those testing positive for prohibited substances will recieve a ban ranging from from 2-10 years which in a number of sports is effectively ending their career and their livelihood. We can look at this offence as cheating or as breaking their contract of employment. The other 3 activities involve breaking the (UK) law and possibly breaking a contract of employment as well.
We may or may not believe the legislation and / or the penalties to be fair but they are there and have to be accepted. Whether you or I agree with it or not is irrelevant, somebody somewhere obviously believes that drinking and flying is a more serious offence than drinking and driving hence
20mg/100ml and 2 years max
as opposed to
80mg/100ml and 6 months max
I am asking questions to which I do not know the answers, which arise out of what I believe to be a logical thought process.
Usually legislation is introduced in response to a problem or specific event.
Why was the legislation introduced?
Is there a problem?
Is the industry successfully policing itself?
If we look at the cases of the Royal Brunei and Emirates pilots sentenced to prison terms. Both had (please correct me if I'm wrong) BACs not only in excess of the flying limit but high enough to be considered legally drunk. In both cases they were flagged by security and in both cases their colleagues seemed to state that they noticed nothing wrong with them. From this thread and others it is obvious that there is some animosity between aircrew and security.........So, some more questions.
Did security on the days in question flag a number of pilots and these were the only positives?
Are most pilots flying drunk and therefore security have a good chance of a hit?
Do security flag any pilot who they may feel has a bit of an attitude? If so what's the success rate?
Did security on the days in question only flag these pilots and correctly diagnose the cause of the supposedly abnormal behaviour?
I don't know the answer to the above, I wasn't there.
Give me some sensible answers and put my mind at rest!