Once again, the PPRuNe "Judge and Jury" emerges when another case of broken rules reaches the headlines.
I know that:
a) The job carries a huge safety responsibility and, hence, being drunk on duty is not at all an acceptable scenario;
b) The image one has of "flight attendants" is always of the polished professional, groomed to the hilt and incapable of falling into the traps that many other humans do, because they jet around the world, with polished nails and Loius Vuitton handbags strapped to them;
c).....and, therefore, the sight of a flight attendant being "led from the aircraft, staggering all over the place with mascara running down her face, surrounded by policemen...." does not befit the stereotypical illusion of the regular flight attendant. (Quote taken from Aberdeen Press & Journal Newspaper);
d) The lady may have made a terrible mistake and was ruthless and careless by blatantly ignoring the rules and staying up all night at the hotel bar or raiding the minibar at the Airport Thistle Hotel, or.......or......or.....or;
Whatever the case may be, there is a very possible chance that the lady involved does have a problem with alcohol. Perhaps she had just received some bad news that she couldn't cope with. Perhaps someone had just died. Perhaps she had just been told of some major illness. Perhaps.....perhaps......perhaps.
The fact of the matter is that we are dealing with another human being. She is as much human as the rest of us. She is susceptible to the same failings as all of us. She is capable of making a mistake, just as all of us are. Maybe she really screwed up. Yet, all of us do, from time to time and in some way.
Therefore, holding court as the judge and jury here on this forum, where probably NONE of us knows any of the real facts, is a downright dis-service to the individual concerned and to the authorities involved. We are all happy to sit here at our keyboards and bang away anonymously that she should be immediately fired and have the book thrown at her, etc.....
Before anyone starts the judgements again, please re-read point a) of my post. I am not denying that this is a serious issue and do not condone blatant disregard for the safety of 180 passengers. But, WE here at the forum are NOT carrying the authority to make the statements that many of us have done during the course of this particular thread.