Why do planes still have ashtrays?

Under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 's direction, ashtrays must be on the bathroom doors of all airliners. The reason is that ashtrays are there for the passengers who do smoke. Despite warnings and laws prohibiting inflight smoking, some stubborn customers continue to disobey the rules.



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A spokesperson at the time said: “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.”

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While No Smoking signs are certainly there as a constant reminder that smoking is not allowed on board, the signs are also because of convenience and cost. Airlines, like other private businesses, must reinforce federal laws with signage, such as No Smoking signs (via mydoorsign.com).

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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. This was quite common with Asian carriers in the past.

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Whereas internal FAA regulations call for maximum $25,000 fines for smoking on planes and distracting crews, several incidents involving cigarettes in lavatories resulted in fines of $500 or less.

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25, 1990. That's when the federal government, after years of pressure from a union, the Association of Flight Attendants, finally banned smoking on all but a handful of domestic flights over six hours in duration. Ten years later, smoking was prohibited on flights between the United States and foreign destinations.

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Generally, vaping is allowed in designated smoking areas or smoking lounges, which may be located inside and outside the airport terminal. However, it is not allowed on board flights or outside designated areas. This is because vaping devices can set off smoke alarms and may cause a disturbance to other passengers.

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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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Most commercial aircraft are now equipped with dual type (ionization+photoelectric) smoke detectors. Which means while even though the vapor cloud does not contain any smoke particles that the ionization sensor could detect, it would trip the photoelectric sensor and sound the alarm.

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A smoke detection system that consists of ceiling- and/or sidewall-mounted smoke detectors and associated control hardware and alarms is incorporated into crew rest compartments. Crew rest compartments are also designed to prevent hazardous quantities of smoke from entering flight crew or passenger areas.

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“Having a smoking section in the plane was like having a 'peeing section' in a pool,” quipped forum user Robert Moutal. “It was a horrible, horrible experience because there was no escaping the smell.” Although planes were divided into smoking and non-smoking sections, the cigarette stench permeated the cabin.

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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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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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What you're seeing is mist — hot and humid outside air rapidly condensing upon contact with the aircraft's onboard air conditioning unit that creates billows of water vapor.

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