Man arrested for smoking aboard Bengaluru-bound flight

The man allegedly did not pay heed to the warnings of the flight crew, who told him to stop smoking, and was arrested upon reaching Bengaluru airport.

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Police officials from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport have arrested a 29-year-old man for smoking on board a flight.

Santhosh Kumar, a native of Kannatur near Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, had taken an AirAsia flight from Bagdogra to Bengaluru on Saturday. He reportedly went inside the flight’s washroom and began smoking. Upon noticing the smoke which was emitting from the washroom, the airlines’ cabin crew approached him and asked him to put out the cigarette, which he refused to do.

Even after being repeatedly warned by the cabin crew, who also informed him that smoking on a flight was illegal, Santhosh refused to budge. Following this, the crew had issued a written warning to him and also informed the security chief.

This led to a tussle between the cabin crew and Santhosh, with crew members warning him of the consequences and reminding him that it was illegal to smoke aboard a flight. Several passengers on the flight grew visibly panicked.

Upon reaching Bengaluru, the cabin crew filed a complaint with the airport police, who apprehended Santhosh. According to reports, a case has been filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 336 (partaking in an act endangering life or personal safety of others). He had also allegedly claimed that no action could be taken against him and refused to divulge information about his profession.

The AirAsia flight left Bagdogra airport in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Saturday at around 1.30pm and reached Bengaluru at 4pm.

“We arrested him and seized his lighter,” said an investigating officer to the Times of India.

Earlier, in December 2018, in a similar incident, a man aboard a Vistara airlines flight was forced to deboard after he argued with cabin crew about not being allowed to smoke on the flight.