Tel Aviv: passenger smokes cigarette aboard El Al flight and sets bathroom on fire
Tel Aviv: passenger smokes cigarette on board an El Al flight. Those who routinely travel by air almost always have [...]
El Al
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Tel Aviv: passenger smokes cigarette aboard El Al flight. Those who travel by air habitually almost always have fairly clear ideas about what can and cannot be done during a flight, especially for safety reasons.
And while some people may not be completely familiar with the regulations to be kept during flights, virtually everyone knows that smoking is not allowed on an airplane. Yet, not everyone gets over it, and last week one particular passenger made life difficult for the crew and travelers who were flying with him from Tel Aviv to Bangkok. Let's talk about a flight of the carrier El Al, in which a passenger tried to sneak a smoke and accidentally started a fire in the airplane lavatory.
The unpleasant affair on the El Al flight
It seems that the careless man was looking forward to landing because of the irresistible craving for a cigarette. So he decided to ignore every rule related to safety. The crew became aware of the infraction after the warning from the smoke detector, an alarm that sent the man into a panic. Trying to hide the evidence, he immediately threw the cigarette into the wastebasket.
The fire broke out after the butt ignited the toilet paper and tissues inside the bin. And because the container burst into flames, the crew had to intervene with fire extinguishers.
Thanks to the immediate intervention of the crew, the journey continued to the destination. However, it was feared that a fire broke out in the cabin. Surprisingly, the crew did not inform the Thai authorities of the incident.
The decision not to involve the local police force reportedly stemmed from the fact that the plane suffered no major damage. But the consequence is that the passenger will likely face legal action upon his return to Israel. There has been much controversy on social media and elsewhere over the way the El Al company handled the whole affair.
First of all, to declare that the incident did not cause any damage to the plane is quite insane on the part of an airline.
Isn't a fire on board, using fire extinguishers, putting all travelers at risk, in itself very serious?
Some of the harshest comments, accuse the airline of having too relaxed a policy in enforcing rules on passengers, especially on the smoking issue. The situation generated on the El Al flight to Bangkok has been extremely dangerous: in fact, in the past, many planes have crashed to the ground due to fires on board.
Any passenger whose behavior endangers the safety of an aircraft must be justly sanctioned and dealt with in accordance with current regulations, i.e., be handed over to the authorities upon arrival. The passenger, who endangered the entire aircraft, including all Thai nationals on board, actually received too superficial a treatment for the seriousness of the incident.
If one of the other travelers had contacted the police at the BKK airport and filed a complaint independently of the airline, perhaps an even more sensational case would have broken out of a news story that has already gone around the world anyway.
It is unclear whether airlines can arbitrarily decide whether or not to report such serious facts and whether there is a reporting requirement that El Al would have violated in this case.
Tel Aviv: passenger smokes cigarette on board El Al flight. Since when is smoking prohibited on airplanes?
The ban on smoking in airplanes was introduced several decades ago precisely because of past tragedies, we are talking about dramatic accidents that travelers often paid with their lives.
In 1973 as many as 123 passengers died on Varig flight 820 from Rio de Janeiro Brazil, to the French capital Paris. The reason for the fire was a cigarette thrown into the wastebasket, which obviously caught fire.
As for other countries, Australia by far was one of the first to ban smoking on domestic flights in 1987, while New Zealand has banned smoking on domestic flights since 1990. However, the same country still allowed smoking on some international flights until November 1997, when flights to Japan and Korea were added to the list of routes.
Other countries came much later to introduce smoking bans-Cuba in 2014, while China did not impose an in-flight smoking ban until 2017.
Incidentally, Chinese pilots complained until 2019 about this ban, although the negligent behavior of an Air China pilot had led to at least one serious accident. On that occasion, to hide the fact that he was smoking, the pilot accidentally cut off oxygen to passengers.
Despite the bans, there are still many anecdotes that have happened around the world of passengers who, sometimes drunk, have smoked in flight. Last year in the United States, a woman smoked after landing while still seated.
In contrast, in 2017, a British man went to prison for nearly 10 years after starting a fire on board.
Concluding remarks regarding: Tel Aviv passenger smokes cigarette on board El Al flight
The smoking ban was introduced on flights because of the vital issue of safety and protection of all passengers, but for some people smoking on planes still seems like a good idea.
In the case we discussed, it is clear that throwing a lit butt into a wastebasket full of toilet paper and tissues could only lead to a fire.
Fortunately, the flight crew solved the problem calmly and with fire extinguishers, restoring a normal situation.
El Al is a very safe air carrier considering the level of security checks before boarding. But perhaps it is good to improve their approach in enforcing the rules on the most unruly and disrespectful travelers. Indeed, their policy of treating such infractions superficially by not handing over Israeli passengers to foreign authorities suggests a "double standard."
It is unclear what would have happened if the passenger had not been an Israeli national. We hope that such dangerous events will become increasingly rare. And that passengers understand that the in-flight smoking ban is necessary for everyone's safety.
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