Jean-Francois Perreault and Imran Zafar Syed were arrested as they were due to pilot an Air Transat A310 plane, which carries up to 250 passengers.

Canadian airline Air Transat was forced to reschedule the flight and put up passengers in hotels. The airline said that safety was its top priority, but declined to comment further.

Perreault, 39, and Syed, 37, both from Ontario, were charged under the Railway and Transport Safety Act, which covers alcohol and drug limits. Police said they were charged with being "impaired with alcohol."

They also face charges relating to "threatening or abusive behavior", according to officials.

Both were remanded in custody until their next appearance, due to take place within eight days.

Air Transat runs charter and scheduled flights between Canada and several European and Caribbean destinations.

Last August, Norwegian police arrested a Latvian pilot and three of his crew after all four failed blood tests at Oslo airport before a scheduled flight to Greece.

rc/kl (AFP, AP)