A Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Alicante, Spain, was delayed by two hours after a 21-year-old passenger was caught vaping in the aircraft bathroom, setting off the smoke alarm and prompting a full police response.
The flight, scheduled to depart at 7:05 a.m. on July 3, was already delayed due to a staff illness. But things escalated when a smoke detector was triggered in the toilet, allegedly by a passenger sneaking a vape.
Six police officers boarded the plane and removed the man, who was calm and cooperative, according to eyewitness Tristan James Walker who filmed the ordeal and posted it to TikTok.
Man blacklisted from airline after vaping on flight causes delay
Walker, 39, recorded the incident and later ran into the same passenger on Benidorm’s party strip, where the man claimed he’d received only a caution and was now blacklisted from flying with Ryanair.
The TikToker further said that the vaper should have been given a warning by the staff before being kicked off the flight.
“They will normally give you a warning first, they told us about a passenger from Italy who lit a cigarette and he was only given a warning,” he said.
Police Scotland confirmed that the individual was “charged in connection with an aviation offence.” Despite the disruption, the remaining 196 passengers reached their destination later that morning, with the flight finally taking off at 8:28 a.m., according to FlightAware data.
The viral video adds to a string of recent air travel controversies, including an incident where a pilot was forced to make a 180 after realizing he forgot to bring his passport.
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