A 56-year-old first-time flyer was arrested at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport KIA on Tuesday for smoking beedi mid-air on an Akasa Air Ahmedabad-Bengaluru flight. Praveen Kumar, 62, was arrested on charges of putting the lives of fellow passengers in danger. The Air India-backed carrier, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, filed a complaint with the airport police following the flight's landing at the airport.
He hails from Marwar, Rajasthan, and has boarded the flight from Ahmedabad. He was found in his bathroom by crew members, who were able to find him smoking inside the toilet. He was sent to the Bengaluru Central Jail, where he was held for several months. The Times of India reported that it was his first flight and that he did not know about the airline's strict no-smoking policy.
I regularly travel by train and smoke inside the toilet, he said. The police say cigarettes get detected easily and fails to do so indicates a serious lapse.
The officer said that Kumar was flying alongside an elderly person, who was flying to Bengaluru to participate in the post-death rituals of a family relative. If convicted, the accused must spend at least one week in judicial custody, the official said.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Akasa Air said the crew followed the required safety protocols and hand-signed the passenger to the local police. The Akasa Air spokeswoman also said the airline is assisting authorities with their investigation into the matter.
However, this is not the only incident where flyers have been caught smoking. Earlier this year, KIA police arrested two passengers for lighting up cigarettes mid-air. The accused were aware of the fact that smoking is only allowed on flights, according to a senior police official.