A first time flier was recently arrested from Bengaluru ariport after being caught smoking a bidi in midair. The passenger - identified as Praveen Kumar - was charged with endangering the lives of fellow passengers. He however told the police that he had been unaware of the aviation rules and thought that this would be similar to smoking in a train washroom - something he professed to doing regularly.
“I regularly travel by train and smoke inside the toilet. Thinking I could do the same here, I decided to smoke a bidi,” Times of India quoted him as telling the police.
Kumar had boarded the plane at Ahmedabad on Tuesday before being caught smoking in the lavatory by the cabin crew. Officials said that the flight attendants had quickly swung into action and detained him. Upon reaching Kempegowda International Airport he was handed over to the police.
As per guidelines given in The Aircraft Rules of 1937, smoking - including the use of e-cigarettes - is prohibited within flights in India. In recent days however, a series of violations have been reported across the country.
Both Indigo and Air India reported passengers after they were caught smoking in washrooms in early March. A 24-year-old woman passenger was arrested for smoking in the lavatory of a Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight. The cabin crew had discovered the cigarette in the dustbin and poured water to douse it. A day earlier Air India officials found a passenger smoking inside the washroom of a Delhi-bound flight. The cabin crew had sensed the smoke emanating from the washroom even as it triggered the fire alarm.
A case was also registered against a US citizen for allegedly smoking in the bathroom and misbehaving with other passengers aboard an Air India London-Mumbai flight on March 11.
(With inputs from agencies)
