A scheduled Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Sacramento had to request police to meet the aircraft at the gate, after it is alleged that a passenger vaped on board, setting off the smoke alarm at 35,000 feet. The pilot is heard speaking to air traffic control, requesting the police meet the aircraft on arrival.

Vaping or smoking on board is prohibited, as it can cause a severe fire risk, and due to pressurized cabins on an airplane, this can be extremely dangerous. The ban also protects other passengers and crew from secondhand smoke, and is enforced by the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) and applies to all commercial flights.

Smoking A Vape In The Airplane Lavatory

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The Alaska Airlines flight, operating as AS1463, had departed from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on Thursday, March 26, when the passenger in question made their way to the onboard lavatory and then proceeded to smoke from a vape. This subsequently set off the aircraft’s smoke alarm, prompting the crew to intervene.

After the incident, the pilot then requested support from law enforcement to meet the airplane on arrival at Sacramento International Airport (SMF), and reiterated that they had found a passenger vaping onboard and setting off the alarms. The captain noted that he would like somebody to have a conversation with them. The exact message is shared below as shared by Flight Simulator Fantasy:

Vaping Onboard AS1463 From Seattle To Sacramento

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Multiple sources on social media have claimed that the flight number was AS1436; however, on closer inspection, this is a typo, and precise flight data from Flightradar24 suggests the service was actually AS1463. This flight, which is operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 9, departs from Seattle at 9:24 am daily, and arrives in Sacramento at 11:17 am after a one-hour and 53-minute flight.

On the day of this incident, the flight departed late from Seattle, having pushed back from Seattle at 10:39, one hour and 15 minutes late, and arrived in Sacramento at 12:12 pm, 55 minutes behind schedule. On this day, the flight was operated by aircraft N983AK, a two-year-old MAX 9, which joined the Alaska fleet in June 2023. Further aircraft characteristics below as per ch-aviation:

The flight from Sacramento then operated an onward flight to Portland International Airport (PDX), and this was also delayed, departing from SMF at 1:17 pm, instead of 12:11 pm. It remains unclear if the vaping incident interfered with the on-time departure of this flight.

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Smoking And Vaping Have Been Banned For Decades

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While smoking onboard aircraft was once a thing, today it is mostly prohibited worldwide as most commercial airlines and respective national and international aviation regulators began to outlaw the practice in the early 1980s. While on board planes, there are still functioning ashtrays; these are primarily for the safe disposal of a cigarette if a passenger decides to break the rules.

Some private jets may still permit the act, but not on regular commercial airlines. To be safe, aircraft are fitted with smoke detectors, and those who set them off or are found tampering with them may be expected to pay hefty fines or face prosecution. This year marks 36 years of the complete ban of smoking/vaping on board domestic flights in the United States.

United Airlines was the first major US carrier to offer a non-smoking cabin on flights in 1971, while Delta Air Lines took these steps in 1994, banning smoking on domestic or international flights. The rest of the US gradually adopted these bans beginning with short-haul international or domestic flights before extending this out to their entire operations.