A veteran Delta pilot who allegedly showed up drunk for a flight from Scotland to New York City has been ordered not to fly in the UK’s airspace — as he faced charges for his alleged reckless conduct.
Lawrence Russell Jr., 62, was charged Friday under the UK’s Railways and Transportation Safety Act of 2003, which imposes limits on alcohol consumption for crew members.
He appeared Monday in Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court, where he made no plea and was remanded in custody, “committed for further examination,” a police spokesperson told ABC News.
Russell was expected to appear in court again “within the next eight days,” but during a short video meeting Wednesday, he was granted bail by Sheriff Gordon Liddle, according to the Edinburgh News.
One condition of being sprung states that he may not fly within UK airspace until the case has been disposed of.
Russell, whose address was given as “Georgia, USA,” had also spent the weekend in custody, according to the outlet.
He was accused of being over the legal limit when he showed up at Edinburgh Airport on Friday for Flight DL209, which was canceled at the last minute with the passengers bound for JFK International Airport already onboard.
In Scotland, the legal blood-alcohol limit for airline staff is 20 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood. For drivers, it is 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.