How often do people get caught smoking on planes?

According to the FAA, 696 people have been cited for smoking on board planes over the last five years. It falls to flight attendants to report it, people like Gailen David who's been with American Airlines for over 20 years.



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Depending on the country and aviation authority governing your flight, you can face stiff fines and even criminal charges if you're caught smoking on a flight.

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Rules & Regulations
As of 2000, federal law prohibit smoking on all domestic commercial airlines, despite the fact that, by law, commercial airliners must still have an ashtray installed inside of their lavatories.

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Pilots can and sometimes do smoke in the cockpits of business jets. These can be as large as airliners (see BBJ), but usually aren't. Even when a country and/or airline ban smoking in the flight deck, some pilots will ignore the ban and still light up.

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Once these airplane designs were put into production, changes were expensive for the airline. The signs are often left as a harmless reminder. Many new airplanes have replaced “No Smoking” with “Please Turn Off Electronic Devices” signs. (Photo by miss_rogue used under a Creative Commons license.)

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While both the moisture from rain and fog and the smoke from wildfires can lead to reduced visibility – and thusly, flight delays – smoke can pose a greater danger. This is due to the navigation systems pilots and air traffic controllers depend on, according to Kevin Morris with the Federal Aviation Administration.

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Unlike alcohol, tobacco is considered a legal product. As such, it can be transported on all American-based airlines without risk of confiscation or punishment, according to the TSA. In fact, you can bring standard cigarettes and loose tobacco in your pockets, carry-on, or even your checked luggage.

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Can you smoke on your own private jet? Of course. If you own the aircraft, you can smoke as much tobacco as you want. However, smoking weed is still illegal, even if you own the jet.

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Subsequently, following concerted lobbying efforts by health advocates, Congress passed legislation banning smoking on US domestic flights of less than two hours, which became effective in 1988. The law was made permanent and extended to flights of less than six hours in 1990.

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If you're trying to fly with edibles, stash them in a resealable fruit snack or gummy bear pouch — something that's also not a permeable plastic ziplock bag. If you use a ziplock bag, your edibles will scan as orange, which alerts TSA of “biological material.” Fortunately, most vape pens can pass as eCigarrettes.

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Currently, the bragging rights for the longest flight in the world belong to Singapore Airlines' New York City to Singapore route. Its longest flight path, which connects Singapore's Changi Airport with New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, 9,585 miles away, takes 18 hours and 40 minutes.

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On February 25, 1990, the “no-smoking” sign was permanently lit on U.S. domestic airline flights – for the health of flight attendants and passengers. This eventually led to smokefree air on all flights to and from the U.S. and to smokefree policies for airlines worldwide.

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You may smoke on a cruise ship, but only in designated smoking areas. On most ships operated by U.S. cruise lines, all indoor public spaces are off-limits with the exceptions being the casino (or part of the casino), a cigar lounge (if the ship has one) and one or two other lounges.

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The short answer to this question is no.
Smoking is banned from all commercial airline flights for a variety of reasons, including passenger health concerns, reduced maintenance costs associated with keeping the aircraft clean from tobacco smoke residue, and fire hazard prevention.

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The short answer is yes, although whether or not you can on a specific aircraft is determined on a case by case basis. Many private aircraft owners are just as particular with their planes as they are with their homes and automotive vehicles, as so should you be with your private flight preferences.

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