56-year-old passenger arrested for smoking on Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight

A 56-year-old man was detained at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for smoking in midair while on board an Akasa Air flight with a destination of Bengaluru.

The airline’s duty manager reported the incident to KIA police as soon as they arrived at the airport. He was accused of putting other passengers’ lives in danger. 

Praveen Kumar, the defendant, is a native of the Marwar district of Rajasthan. The airline crew discovered him smoking in the toilet after he boarded the flight in Ahmedabad. Later, Kumar was taken to Bengaluru Central Jail, where he allegedly told the police that it was his first trip ever and that he was unaware of the regulations. 

TOI quoted, "I regularly travel by train and smoke inside the toilet. Thinking I could do the same here, I decided to smoke a beedi," the accused told police. 

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A top police official told the Times of India that failing to find cigarettes during security frisking is a significant error.

"They get detected easily. The only explanation for such incident is failure in frisking," the official said.

Two people were arrested for smoking cigarette in the aircraft, earlier this year.