A Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member was over the legal alcohol limit as she reported at work for a flight at Heathrow, a court heard.
Kathryn Scott, 44, was stopped as she prepared to board the jet at the airport on 12 June and a test revealed she had 91 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
That is above the limit set by the Railways and Transport Safety Act.
The cabin crew member from Surrey appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates to face once charge of performing an aviation function when alcohol in breath/ blood/ urine was over the legal limit.
Prosecutor Rene Desilva told the court: ‘This was on 12th June 2025 at Heathrow Terminal 3.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
‘The defendant is a cabin crew member for Virgin. There were reports that there had been a collision with a black Hyundai.’
He said Ms Scott had been identified as the Hyundai driver and she had been about to depart on a plane when she was detained. She had left the vehicle at the scene of the collision, Mr Desilva told the court.
The prosecutor added: ‘The defendant had reported for duty. The defendant admitted she had been in an accident.
‘She was asked to provide a specimen and was subsequently arrested.’
Ms Scott denies the charge.
The defendant’s solicitor told the court that she was undergoing tests to establish if she had a genetic disorder which means her liver struggles to process alcohol meaning her body has trouble breaking it down.
Her lawyer also said the Hyundai had crashed after a fault with the steering and not driver error.
The court heard that the cabin crew member told police she had drunk two glasses of wine the night before.
Chairman of the magistrate bench Tony Delliston set a trial date of December 11 at Uxbridge Magistrates.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
