The bizarre item on planes that you’re actually banned from using

PASSENGERS may be stunned to realise that there is an item on the plane you are banned from using – and will get you in big trouble if you do.

Plane bathroom doors all still have ashtrays built into them.

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Yet smoking on flights was first banned in 1987 in Australia, followed by the US in 1988 and the EU in 1997.

Flight attendant Jessica shared a video on her TikTok account explaining why this is.

She wrote: “Why are there still ashtrays on places if smoking is banned?

“Because, in case someone doesn’t follow the rules, it’s a legal requirement to have a safe place to dispose of cigarettes onboard.”

She joked in the comment: “Some people be like ‘there’s ashtray! It means I can smoke’.”

Swoop flight attendant Kaylee backed this up with her own video explaining this reason.

Someone replied in the comments: “FA here! It is because people will try and break the rules.

“We prefer that they use ashtrays to hide their cigarettes instead of causing a fire hazard by hiding it in a small corner.”

And make sure you don’t play with it either – Jana Steinhagen, who works at British Airways, explained that she has a scar on her arm from passengers who pull it out and leave it in the way.

Jana answered: “Pulling the ashtray out of the toilet door. They think it’s the door handle.

“Once I caught my arm on the open ashtray and now I have a scar there.”

In 2019, a man stunned passengers after smoking on a plane while travelling to Minnesota on a Spirit Airlines flight.

Just last month, a man was kicked off a flight after lighting a cigarette when they were stuck on the runway.

While most passengers are aware that smoking is banned on flights, many may not realise that vaping is also banned on flights.

Here are some of the other hidden plane features you may never have spotted, including secret handrails and important window holes.

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