Miroslav Gronych faces jail after pleading guilty to being impaired while in control of an aircraft.
Slovak national Gronych was found slumped in his seat of the Sunwing aircraft he was scheduled to pilot from Calgary to Cancunwith his pilot’s wings attached upside down on his uniform, BBC News reports.
He was found to have had more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in his body.
The flight later left Calgary for Cancun with a different pilot.
The aircraft had 105 people onboard.
Gronych, 37, is facing a possible one-year prison sentence, which is being sought by the prosecution.
"I can’t even describe how ashamed I am," he said in court yesterday (March 21).
He added: "My kids will be punished for my mistakes."
The court heard that as Gronych boarded the aircraft at around 07:00 (14:00 GMT) on New Year’s Eve, he struggled to hang up his coat and was slurring his words.
According to a statement read to the court, his co-pilot suggested that Gronych leave the plane, but instead the defendant sat in the pilot’s chair and appeared to pass out "resting his face on the window", BBC News reports.
He was also an hour late for check-in, which he said was because he got lost going through security.
An empty bottle of vodka was later discovered in his hotel room.
"Mr Gronych put the lives of 105 people at risk," prosecutor Rose Greenwood told the court, adding: "Hopefully he will never be permitted to fly again."
