Puffing Israeli passenger puts Bangkok flight at risk

An Israeli passenger caused a small fire on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Bangkok yesterday. The plane was in mid-flight at the time of the incident and continued on its path as planned until it landed in Bangkok, despite the fire.

The nicotine-addicted passenger had been unable to resist a fly puff on an illegal cigarette in the aircraft’s toilet. He had tried to put out the cigarette in the waste bin, a behaviour many will find astonishing considering the warnings to passengers on international flights.

The fire broke out when the burning butt set light to some toilet paper and tissues inside the trash receptacle, triggering smoke alarms.

According to the airline, flight attendants and the captain attended the incident. The fire was immediately put out with fire extinguishers. No lives were ever in danger and very little damage was caused.

The airline said…

“A passenger on a flight to Bangkok was caught smoking in the plane’s bathroom, and there was a fear of a fire breaking out in the cabin. The crew and the captains took care of the incident immediately and with caution by using the dedicated fire extinguishers.”

Since no damage was caused to the plane, the airline decided not to involve local police in the matter, though other passengers on board may quite rightly feel differently about the matter.

The unnamed passenger concerned will face legal action upon his return to Israel, according to El Al. The airline said…

“The passenger was warned and the issue was passed on for further examination by our legal department.”

It is the second serious incident in as many days this week involving Israeli passengers heading for Thailand’s beaches.

An Israeli tourist was arrested on arrival at Phuket Airport on Thursday after security found 55 bullets in his luggage.