Over 100 passengers on an Aeroflot 767 scheduled to fly from Sheremetyevo, Moscow to New York on December the 28th last year refused to fly due to concerns about the pilot’s sobriety.

The passengers were apparently alarmed after the pilot slurred his words and repeated himself on the plane’s PA system. According to a Russian newspaper, the pilot had been celebrating his birthday just the day before.

After raising their concerns, passengers were instructed to “stop making trouble” by the cabin crew or risk being removed from the aircraft. As passengers continued to cause unrest, Aeroflot representatives were forced to board the plane in an attempt to calm the situation.

A reporter from the English language newspaper the Moscow Times, who was onboard during the incident, said the airline’s stance on the situation was that “it’s not such a big deal if the pilot is drunk”.

Airline representatives were also reported as saying: “All [the pilot] has to do is press a button and the plane flies itself. The worst thing that can happen is he’ll trip over something in the cockpit.”

It took three hours and a telephone call to Aeroflot from a first class passenger to have a replacement crew brought on board to fly the plane to New York. An Aeroflot spokesperson confirmed that passengers due to fly to New York on December the 28th had registered a complaint that eventually led to a change in cabin crew, but denied claims that the original pilot was drunk.

The spokesperson said: “The pilot was tested for alcohol but none was found. He was so upset that he developed high blood pressure and has been in hospital ever since.”

This latest incident comes as a major blow to Aeroflot who are already dubbed “Aeroflop” in Russia thanks to a string of previous mishaps.