EVER wondered why modern planes still have an ashtray, even though smoking is
banned?
It seems an unnecessary addition given people are no longer allowed to light
up mid-flight.
Smoking on planes was banned for US domestic flights in 1988, with most
airline companies jumping onboard by the end of the 1990s.
But there’s actually a very credible explanation.
What if a sneaky passenger decided to try and have a cheeky fag in the toilet?
They would need somewhere to dispose of the lit butt, and that place has to be
safe.
Writing on Q&A website Quora, Dick Karp said: “The FAA (Federal
Aviation Administration) doesn’t want them to put the cigarette in the waste
disposal bin where there is a risk that it could start a fire.
“Waste disposal bins on planes have their own sensor and automatic fire
extinguisher as an additional form of backup protection.”
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In 1973 a plane flying from Rio De Janeiro to Paris was forced to make an
emergency landing after smoke was detected in the cabin.
This resulted in the deaths of 123 people – only 11 survived.
In 2009 a BA Boeing 747 flight to Mexico City was briefly grounded when it was
discovered to be missing an ashtray onboard.
The plane was unable to take off until one was sourced from another aircraft.
A British Airways spokesperson explained: “It is a legal requirement,
under air navigation orders, to have ashtrays because while smoking is not
permitted on flights, if someone were to light a cigarette on board there
must be somewhere to safely extinguish it.”