Just how many drunk pilots are there?

Earlier this month a Delta Air Lines pilot was jailed in the UK after being way over the limit when tested for alcohol in his system.

But the Jagermeister-loving American is not alone in thinking it is fine to fly a plane load of passengers when off his face.

Air India this week dismissed a pilot who failed a breathalyser test shortly after flying an international flight, Travel Mole reported.

The pilot tested positive for alcohol after completing a flight from Phuket to Delhi.

“We have zero tolerance and have taken very strong action,” an airline source told Indian media.

The airline reportedly plans to file a criminal case with police and has informed regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

The pilot was the senior in the cockpit, working the flight with a newly-appointed captain.

He must have known that pilots are subject to post-flight testing on international flights, which makes his behaviour all the more inexplicable.

Last year, the DGCA said it suspended nine pilots and 32 cabin crew for failing pre-flight breathalyser tests.

Failing a test automatically leads to a pilot’s license suspension for three months. A second offence leads to a ban of three years.

Many would think they should never be allowed to fly again.

Delta dawn: Sorry, your pilot's been on the piss

UPDATE: The pilot was this week sentenced to 10 months in jail.

When you are responsible for the safety of several hundred people, you probably should have the intelligence and decency not to get drunk as a skunk.

But a US-based Delta Air Lines pilot has pleaded guilty to being over the alcohol limit before he was due to fly a transatlantic flight back to the US from Scotland in June last year, Travel Mole reports.

Reporting for duty for an Edinburgh to New York flight, Lawrence Russell, 63, was searched by Edinburgh Airport security officers.

They discovered two bottles of herbal alcoholic drink Jägermeister in his bag, including one which was half empty.

Thinking he was possibly intoxicated, the officers required him to do a breath test - which he failed miserably. His reading was more than twice the legal limit.

Russell was remanded in custody at Edinburgh Sheriff's Court after pleading guilty to being impaired through drink as a pilot.

In mitigation, Russell’s lawyer supplied records to the court of his treatment for alcoholism. A bit of a worry for his passengers.

Russell said was "under no illusion" it was a serious offence.

Sheriff Alison Stirling this week said a prison sentence was necessary for the "protection of the public".

In sentencing, she said Russell "showed a reckless disregard for the safety of his passengers and crew. The pilot of a commercial aircraft holds the lives of hundreds in his hands.

“This conviction should send the message that crimes of this nature will be robustly dealt with.”