A video of a woman aboard a Spirit Airlines flight smoking a cigarette on the plane, has recently gone viral. Two videos, shot by passenger Alexa Majdalawi, were shared on TikTok and have since garnered over 12 million views.
The woman smoking a cigarette on the plane is yet another example of the increasing number of people behaving badly on planes.
According to the Miami Herald, the plane was making its way to the gate after landing at Fort Lauderdale International Airport. The flight departed from Detroit.
After landing, the plane took an hour to make its way to the gate. During this time, the woman pulled out a cigarette and began smoking.
“We landed, and we were taxiing for a little while and this girl (literally right in front of me) just pulled out a cigarette, and started smoking and blowing it behind her,” Majdalawi told Miami Herald, adding she’s asthmatic and had to use her inhaler several times.
Majdalawi notified the flight crew, but they initially asked her to move to another seat if she wished.
The crew then summoned law enforcement officers and removed the woman from the plane at the request of the airline employees. She complied and no arrest was made, authorities said.
In the now viral clip shared by Majdalawi on TikTok, police officers arrive to remove the woman from the flight.
The woman, who was smoking, begins “playing dead” while officers try to wake her to remove her from the flight.
After several passengers began yelling at her to wake up and get off, she complied, and was escorted off the plane. She was not arrested, the local media outlet said.
“Flight attendants noticed the odor and the other guests were quick to point out who was responsible and hand over what remained of the extinguished cigarette. Our crew summoned law enforcement officers to have them waiting at the gate to remove the passenger.” Spirit Airlines said in a statement to the Miami Herald.
Smoking on US domestic flights was first banned in 1988. All domestic and international flights were required to be smoke-free by 2000.
