Two airline pilots removed by Scotland police from the controls of a packed jetliner shortly before takeoff on suspicion of being drunk have been remanded to custody by a judge.
The pilots, ages 37 and 39, were set to depart Glasgow on a trans-Atlantic flight Monday to Toronto carrying nearly 250 passengers when police intervened.
Tuesday, a judge in a court near Glasgow denied bail to the suspects and ordered them detained for further hearings.
A spokesman for Canadian carrier Air Transat later acknowledged the arrests, apologizing to the passengers and telling reporters the flight had been rescheduled.
Passengers later told reporters they were told the A310 jetliner could not take off for "operational reasons."
By early Tuesday, there were multiple reports of passengers complaining about the more than 20-hour delay before a new flight carried them to their destination.
But two Canadian television commentators aboard the original flight said they were "thankful and so grateful" to whoever reported their original suspicions. Television presenters Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan wrote on Twitter that they were "counting blessings" the flight was aborted.
