Julian Monaghan, 49, was arrested at Gatwick on January 18 and found to have 86mg of alcohol in his system per 100ml of blood, the BBC reports.
The legal limit for pilots is 20mg. By comparison, the legal limit for motorists is 80mg.
Monaghan admitted reporting for duty over the limit when he appeared before magistrates in Crawley on Wednesday (June 6).
He had been due to fly as the third pilot on a BA service to Mauritius.
Defending Monaghan, who no longer works as a pilot, Emlyn Jones said in mitigation Monaghan was “a fraction” over the drink drive limit.
However, the judge, chairman of the bench Dr David Wiggins, dismissed this, calling the comparison “spurious”.
Monaghan was warned two similar cases in 2015 and 2017 eventually carried jail sentences of 10 and nine months respectively, the Mirror reports.
The judge sent the case to Lewes Crown Court where Monaghan will be sentenced on June 12.
A BA spokesperson said: "This behaviour is completely unacceptable and not what we expect from our highly professional fleet of pilots.
"The safety and security of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority."
