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Passengers protest after pilot gives the go-ahead for in-flight cigarettes

(Global Times)    09:59, September 02, 2014
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Passengers on a flight from Chengdu to Beijing on Sunday lodged a protest, questioning how matches could get through airport security checks after discovering other passengers smoking on the plane.

The incident triggered online debate over loose implementation of aircraft security measures in China.

According to The Beijing News, some passengers had been smoking in the plane restroom during the flight as well as on the gangway ladder when the plane temporarily stopped in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province.

"They were smoking on the ladder right next to a fuel truck, which was quite dangerous," a passenger surnamed Huo said, adding that when airport police tried to intervene, the flight crew turned their request down.

"The crew said it was not necessary and wanted to carry on the flight to Beijing," Huo noted.

Chengdu Business Daily reported that the captain of the flight said "passengers can smoke as much as they like if he allows it."

The pilot's attitude reportedly drove a majority of the passengers to lodge an official protest with China United Airlines after the plane arrived in Beijing.

The airline eventually agreed to compensate each passenger 1,800 yuan ($300) and apologized for the incident.

Smoking contaminates the environment inside the cabin and poses a potential fire hazard, the Chengdu Business Daily quoted an aviation expert as saying.

The nicotine contained in the tobacco could cause blood vessels to constrict, creating eyesight problems for pilots, the expert said.

Others have questioned how some passengers succeeded in smuggling matches into a plane.

An official surnamed Li who oversees security checks at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport did not deny possible technical problems in security checks for matches when reached by the Global Times.

Zhang Qihuai, an aviation expert, suggested that infrared scanners have difficulties in detecting matches and that considerable caution is needed during the security check.

(Editor:Liang Jun、Zhang Qian)
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