‘The incredibly stupid passenger behaviour that’s risking lives on flights’

IT’S amazing how stupidly some people will behave during a flight – and still act like they’ve done nothing wrong.

Yet mindlessness can be incredibly dangerous, particularly for your flight attendants, who have to deal with it all.

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In this week’s edition of my weekly blog for Sun Online Travel, I’ll be talking about the rise in vaping on board planes – and why those of you who do it are not only annoying, but also causing big problems.

Sadly, dealing with people vaping is a very regular occurrence on board, even with all the announcements telling passengers not to do it.

But there’s so many reasons why it shouldn’t be done.

Firstly, although it may seem harmless, it’s a personal choice and in a confined space, it’s going to definitely affect other people.

It’s like listening to music out loud, or eating horrible smelling food in the cabin.

Why should others have to deal with the smell of your blueberry bonanza or fruity fiesta vape, just because of your impatience?

However, away from etiquette, there are some much scarier reasons why your vape should be stowed safely until you’re off the plane.

Firstly, it contains a lithium ion battery, which have been known to combust at times, if over used or damaged.

Do you really want that in a confined space full of oxygen and jet fuel? Probably not.

But even if it isn’t exploding – some people might think that it is because of the amount of smoke it looks like it’s producing, which can really frighten other passengers. And who can blame them?

We’ve been on flights where passengers have seen smoke or vapour in the cabin, something they’re not expecting to see, and they’ve called us over urgently.

We’ve had people panic and shout “FIRE” really loudly in the cabin, when it turned out to be someone trying to have a stealthy vape – and clearly failing.

Having to calm down a plane full of people who think their life is in danger is no fun, believe me, so please don’t put us in that position.

And also, think how your vaping could affect our judgement in the future.

For instance, how can we actually distinguish between a cloud of vapour or potential fumes and smoke?

And if we get so used to seeing it on board, it could be a case of the boy who cried wolf, where the one time we’re slow to react because we think it’s another vape, there could actually be a serious problem.

Mostly though, you shouldn’t be doing it because it’ll get you in trouble.

Smoke detectors are fitted on board in more places than you’d expect and they can sometimes get triggered something as gentle as hairspray.

When this happens, the flight deck will get ALL the bells and whistles out for a fire event on board and will go through a relevant checklist which takes time and energy away from navigating.

I’m not sure about you, but I’d rather the captains had their full concentration on flying the aircraft, rather than being blindsided and having to deal with someone vaping.

This is why, whenever we catch someone doing it, we exercise as much power as we can on board.

The punishment is the same as if you’re actually smoking, for which you can be fined, or even arrested.

You could also find yourself on our no-fly list too if you’re lucky.

Meanwhile, these are the rules for having vapes in your hand luggage and checked-in bags.

And this is how many vapes you’re allowed to take with you on a plane.

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