Kerala Man Smokes Inside Lavatory of Spicejet Plane Mid-Flight, Arrested

An FIR was lodged against the Kerala man and the passenger was apprehended by the crew who handed over him to the airport authorities.

A 62-year-old man from Kerala was arrested for allegedly smoking inside the lavatory of a private airline, which landed at the airport here on January 29. According to the Police, a case under various provisions of the Aircraft Act was registered against Thrissur resident, Sukumaran. The case was registered on January 29 and the man was arrested after completing formalities. Later, he was let off on bail, they said. As per the FIR, the man was found smoking inside the lavatory of Spicejet airways mid-flight and was apprehended by the crew who handed over him to the airport authorities.

Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) fined Tata-owned Air India Rs 10 lakh for not reporting two incidents onboard a Paris-New Delhi flight last year. This incident occurred within a few days of the urination incident on the New York-Delhi flight. 

As per reports, the unruly behaviour of two passengers was overlooked by Air India on the Paris-New Delhi flight. While one passenger smoked inside the lavatory of the flight (smoking is banned inside the plane), another drunk passenger relieved himself on a blanket kept on an empty seat.

This fine comes within days of DGCA slapping a first-of-its-kind fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for mishandling the peeing incident on a New York-Delhi flight.

The incident, which occurred on November 26, 2022, garnered a lot of media attention, resulting in the arrest of Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on an elderly woman on the flight in an inebriated condition.

Apart from Rs 30 lakh fine on Air India, DGCA also fined Rs 3 lakh on Air India's Director of in-flight services for failing to discharge her duties. DGCA also suspended the license of the pilot-in-command for three months.

(With inputs from agencies)