An intoxicated commercial aviation pilot has been arrested just moments before takeoff following an anonymous tip-off from a passenger.

Police in the Netherlands made the arrest after a pilot took a breath test revealing blood alcohol content levels above the legal limit.

The 52-year-old captain, from Woodbury, New Jersey, provided a blood alcohol content test of 0.023 percent, a spokesman for the Netherlands Police Agency said following the incident.

Under Federal Aviation Administration rules, pilots are not permitted to operate or attempt to operate aircraft within eight hours of having consumed alcohol.

As a result of the incident the flight was cancelled, with the pilot fined €700.

Some 196 passengers were aboard the Boeing 767-300 during the incident.

While the pilot involved in the incident has not been named, Delta Air Lines confirmed a scheduled flight between Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport, Netherlands and Newark, New Jersey, was cancelled out of concern that a crew member appeared “unfit for duty”.

In a statement the airline confirmed it was cooperating with local authorities, while a crew member has been suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry.