New Delhi: A first-time flyer from Rajasthan, who was travelling from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru by Akasa Air airline, was arrested from Bengaluru airport for allegedly smoking 'Beedi' midair, police said on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.
According to the police, the 56-year-old flyer went to the lavatory and smoked, risking the lives of other passengers onboard.
Police stated that flight attendants swung into action quickly, held him and, on reaching Bengaluru, handed him over to the police.
During interrogation, the passenger told police that he was travelling by flight for the first time and was not aware of the aviation rules.
He also said that during train travels he used to smoke in toilets and tried the same on the plane.
“I regularly travel by train and smoke inside the toilet. Thinking I could do the same here, I decided to smoke a beedi," Times of India quoted him as telling the police.
Police said that the accused passenger has been booked on charges of endangering the lives of other passengers.
In a similar incident on March 18, a passenger was arrested at the KempeGowda International Airport in Bengaluru for allegedly smoking in the toilet on an Indigo flight, IANS reported.
According to the airport police, the arrested person, identified as Shehari Choudari, committed the act while travelling from Assam to Bengaluru on 6E 716 Indigo flight.
The accused passenger had smoked in the toilet while the flight was in the air endangering the safety of other passengers. The crew of the flight noticed the smell in the toilet and reported it to the authorities.
Earlier, in the first week of March, a 24-year-old woman was caught smoking in the toilet on an Indigo flight from Kolkata. She was arrested on her arrival in Bengaluru and was later released on bail, according to IANS.