In the middle of the flight, several boarders started noticing a sharp smoke odor arising out of the rear compartment of the airplane. As the sharpness of the odor increased, people found it disturbing and uncomfortable.
They began to panic and became fearful of the situation as their safety was compromised. Flight attendants on knowing the fact began preparing the evacuation procedure immediately. They alerted the captain and thoroughly searched the aircraft.
The man, eventually was identified as Praveen Kumar. He is a 56-year-old male who boarded an Akasa Air flight from the city of Ahmedabad. He said to the authorities that he had no prior aviation experience. Thereafter he was sent to the Central Jail, Bengaluru.
source – Mid Day
“I frequently travel by train and smoke inside the toilet.” “I decided to smoke a bidi because I thought I could do the same here,” he said to the airport officials. Praveen Kumar used to smoke in the local trains so he assumed that smoking was allowed in aircraft as well.
Kumar was headed to Bengaluru when the crew members caught him smoking bidi in the lavatory of the aircraft. When the aircraft touched down in the city at about 1:00 p.m, the officer in charge Mr. Vijay Thulluru, filed an inquiry report against Mr. Kumar with airport security
According to police officials, Mr. Kumar was with another person and had to attend a post-death ceremony of kin in Bengaluru.
The officials also mentioned that Kumar is a worker in Marwar and he was accompanying an elderly person, who was flying down to the city to attend the post-death ceremony of a relative.
This is the first case in which a person has been apprehended at Bengaluru’s airport for bidi smoking. Earlier two more people were arrested by airport police this year for smoking cigarettes in the course of traveling on a flight.
The defendants in the first two cases were conscious that smoking is strictly prohibited aboard airplanes. Nonetheless, they were discovered smoking. Mr. Kumar stated that he was uninformed of the no-smoking regulation while boarding the first aircraft on Tuesday, according to an official.
Regarding the incident, the airline reacted that they would help the authorities with the investigation.
source -Reddit
An Akasa Air spokesperson is of the opinion that “On May 16, 2023, a passenger on Akasa Air flight QP1326, flying from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru, was found smoking in the lavatory of the aircraft. Our crew followed the required safety protocols and the passenger was handed over to the local police with the help of CISF, upon landing in Bengaluru. We are assisting authorities with their investigation into this matter.” [1]
This event acts as an example of the significance of abiding by aviation laws and the duty every single traveler has to uphold in order to keep the airspace safe for all. The smoke from cigarettes when filled in the air-compressed cabin of an aircraft can lead to serious issues and therefore such activities should be strictly monitored.
It also emphasizes the need for vigilant attention on the part of both passengers and airline employees in order to swiftly report any erratic behaviors that may endanger everyone’s safety.
