China bans pilot and cabin crews from smoking in plane cockpit

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

 In the domestic flights in China pilots and other cabin crew can no longer smoke in the cockpits. The Civil Aviation Organisation had  earlier outlawed the practice on international flights.

There will be a 12-month suspension on pilots and crew found breaking the ban for a first offence and 36 months in the case if they are a repeat offender.

In October 2017 lighting up in the cabin was first prohibited and the airlines were provided with two years to shun away the practice in the cockpit.

However, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a notice banning in-flight smoking with immediate effect.

After an Air China pilot accidentally turned off the plane’s air conditioning mid-flight so that he can hide that he was vaping from the captain  safety concerns were raised.

During the flight he turned the cabin air con off by mistake during the flight CA 106 from Hong Kong to Dalian on 10 July 2018 to stop his e-cigarette smoke filtering into the cabin.

The masks dropped from the ceiling as it resulted insufficient oxygen levels in the cabin, the crew had initiated a descent to a lower altitude after it was discovered that air con was switched off.

Zhang Qihuai, a Beijing lawyer specialising in civil aviation said that if heavy smokers among the passengers can forgo their habit during flights, there is no reason to make the crew an exception, especially since they are responsible for the safety of all on board.

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