An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its first-class passengers started vaping in the cabin.
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American Airlines Flight 1733 was heading for Dallas, Texas from Milwaukee, Wisconsin when the first-class passenger was told to stop vaping. However, he refused to listen to the flight attendants onboard, accusing them of making false allegations against him. He then chased the crew member into the forward gallery.
After the passenger’s behavior became too much for everyone onboard, the aircraft diverted off its original course. It then landed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There the unruly passenger was forced to deplane.
Luckily for the other passengers, the plane could depart again around 8 p.m. local time. It landed in Dallas a little more than an hour later.
Vaping Onboard Any Flight is a Federal Offense
Since 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has referred more than 300 of the most serious cases of vaping on flights to the FBI for further investigation and criminal charges.
Although the initial fine for vaping onboard any plane is $2,000, the FAA could slap unruly passengers with fines up to $37,000.
“FAA regulations prohibit smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, on board airliners,” a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesperson told Newsweek in Oct. 2023. “Passengers who violate federal vaping laws could face fines up to $1,771.”
The FAA spokesperson further expalined that vapes and e-cigarettes were “the leading cause for incidents of smoke, fire or extreme heat on aircraft in 2022.” Among the 55 flight incidents reported through September of 2022, 19 of them were related to vapes and e-cigarettes.
“That’s 35 percent of all incidents in 2022 and triple the incidents reported in 2019,” the FAA spokesperson explained.
A flight attendant identified as Natalie Magee went viral last year after warning passengers against vaping on flights. “Please, don’t be this person,” she said. Magee then recalled being on a flight when a passenger was suspected of vaping.
She went through the process of handling such situations, which included “a complete overhaul of the systems and the engines.”
Vaping Device Can Be on Flights, But Not in Use
The FAA itself dubbed vaping as dangerous on planes due to the smoking device containing lithium batteries. Such batteries pose a risk inside the flight cabin.
Although they cannot use them mid-flight, passengers are allowed to have vapes on them. However, the device must be “appropriately packed in a carry-on luggage. It also needs to be carefully protected from being turned on.
To do this, the device has to be placed in a protective case. The batteries also need to be removed and stored in their own case.