51-year-old passenger apprehended for smoking aboard Muscat-Mumbai flight

PTI, May 8, 2024, 6:50 PM IST

Representative image (source: iStock)

Mumbai: A 51-year-old passenger was apprehended for smoking in the lavatory of a flight during his journey from Muscat to Mumbai, an official said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on board Vistara’s UK234 flight, which took off from Muscat for the Maharashtra capital at 11.56 pm on Monday, he said.

The passenger, Balakrishna Rajayan, who was on board the flight, went to the lavatory at the rear side of the aircraft and smoked a cigarette, the official said.

Rajayan hails from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, he said.

The incident came to light when the pilot of the aircraft noticed it with the help of a smoke detector, he added.

The pilot informed the crew members about it, following which they checked the lavatory and found a cigarette bud in the wash basin, the official said. After the flight landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Tuesday morning, the crew members informed the security supervisor on the ground about the unruly behaviour of the passenger, he said.

The security officials then took the passenger to their office and enquired about his act. He admitted that he had smoked inside the lavatory, he said, adding that Rajayan also produced a matchbox used for lighting the cigarette. He was later taken to the Sahar police station in the city, where a complaint was filed against him by the security supervisor.

As per the complaint, Rajayan had deliberately violated the safety-related rules by smoking inside the plane, putting all the travellers of the flight at risk.

A case was registered against the passenger under section 336 (act of endangering life or personal safety of others) of Indian Penal Code and section 25 of the Aircraft Rules, he said.

Probe into the case is underway, he added.