In-flight smoking still entices hundreds despite 20-year-old ban

Washington: Passengers smoke on US jetliners at least twice a week, according to authorities, breaking the law without creating an international incident like an episode last week.

The Federal Aviation Administration has brought 696 cases, some for civil fines of thousands of dollars, against people caught smoking aboard airliners in the last five years, said Diane Spitaliere, an agency spokeswoman. Lighting a cigarette on a plane has been banned for 20 years.

"People do not always act in a rational or sane manner," said Richard Bloom, director of terrorism and security studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. "With air marshals on planes and other new rules, there are still folks trying to beat the system."

Carriers don't have data on how often passengers attempt a smoke, though "these events still do happen", said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association trade group in Washington.

"When crew members find you smoking, you are reported, and they turn you over to authorities," said Castelveter, whose group's members include Delta, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

The implications of trying to enjoy a cigarette on-board were brought into focus on April 7, when a diplomat from Qatar allegedly attempted to do so on a United Airlines flight. Mohammad Al Madadi, who helps manage the Qatar embassy in Washington, was smoking in the lavatory, said a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity. When an attendant confronted him, he said he burned plastic on his sandal to mask the smell, the official said. The comments were interpreted as threatening. Al Madadi was released from custody Thursday, said Alison Bradley, a spokeswoman for the embassy. The diplomat is going back to Qatar because he lost his ability to function effectively after the incident, a US official said.

While most FAA cases against smokers aren't posted publicly, one of the few that is shows the agency sought a $3,300 (Dh12,120 penalty in 2004 against an Arizona woman.

Spitaliere said she didn't immediately have records on how many of the 696 cases resulted in fines or were dismissed.