Incident of the week #6

I guess the lack of oxygen when flying at 38.000 feet makes people go crazy and do stupid stuff.

This week, yet another passenger thought it would be nice to buy a direct ticket to jail. The aircraft had just taken off from Portland on route to Houston (USA) when the flight crew decided to abort the climbing and levelled off at 14.000 feet reporting to the ground that they had an unruly passenger.

Mr. Unruly is a smoker, and although he´d only been on board for about 35 minutes, he decided it would be ok to light up his electronic cigarette.

Senator Frank Lautenberg (who also wrote the 1987 law to ban smoking on airplanes) had asked early this year to clarify the rule. Because even though many airlines already have begun informing passengers that the devices are not allowed on flights, Lautenberg said there had been confusion over their use and wanted to make sure officials were solidly opposed to opening the door to e-smoking on planes. Some e-cigarette distributors have touted their convenience because they can be "smoked" anywhere traditional cigarettes are not allowed.

If you don´t know what E-cigarettes are, they are plastic and metal devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that the "smoker" inhales. A tiny light on the tip even glows like a real cigarette. They have prompted debate over how risky they are and whether they're even legal.

But returning to Mr. Unruly, he ended up being arrested, after the aircraft returned to Portland for a safe landing about 20 minutes after departing, not just because he lighted up his electronic cigarette while on board, even though his flight attendants had clearly advised him not to. Had he not started punching the cabin crew and  a number of other fellow passengers, such as yelling profanities I´m sure the outcome would have been way different. All of that, just because of an electronic cigarette - Oh, the days of a flight attendant are never boring. When you thought you´ve seen it all, there´s always someone who´ll come and surprise you.