Police at Amsterdam's Schipol airport refused to allow the Moroccan captain of a Boeing 737 to take off on Friday night because he was found to be drunk.

The Dutch news agency says police saw him walking unsteadilty to his plane and made him take a breath test, which showed the level of alcohol in his blood was well over the limit.

The agency says the captain was barred from flying until midday today and fined about one thousand dollars.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service