Sydney, August 6 (ANI): A Qantas pilot was forced to relinquish the controls of a passenger jet minutes before take off after cabin crew suspected she had been drunk before the flight.

The airline said that the senior pilot was 'stood down' from operational duties on full pay, following the incident at Sydney Airport last Monday.

A Qantas spokesman said the airline could not comment on the pilot's identity or alcohol reading, but confirmed: A Qantas captain was withheld from service this week for administrative reasons.

The matter is being investigated and it would be inappropriate to comment further, news.com.au quoted the spokesman, as saying.

The spokesman also confirmed the pilot was a woman, but would not elaborate further, before the investigation, the report added.

The pilot had pulled back from the domestic terminal and was taxiing towards the runway when airline management made the decision to stand her down.

The Boeing 767-300 was ordered back to the domestic terminal where a replacement pilot was found to take the passengers to Brisbane.

The investigation is expected to take up to a month and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has been informed of the incident. (ANI)