Passenger Booked for Smoking Mid-Air on SpiceJet Varanasi–Mumbai Flight

A case of mid-air smoking has been reported onboard a SpiceJet flight (SG-716) from Varanasi to Mumbai, after a passenger was allegedly caught smoking inside the aircraft lavatory.

Based on a complaint from the cabin crew, the Airport Police have registered an FIR against the passenger under Sections 25 and 161 of the Aircraft Act, 1937, with Section 124 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to police, the complainant Mohammed Aman Wasim Qureshi (23), a resident of Kurla, Mumbai, and a cabin crew member with SpiceJet, stated in his report that he was on duty on Flight SG-716 on October 2, 2025, at 5:45 pm. The crew on duty included Senior Cabin Crew Kumari Priyanka Sherawat, crew members Abhay Chavan and Kumari Anjal Manoj, along with Captains Harish Shetty and Rishabh Malhotra.

The flight departed from Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport around 6:00 pm. As per the complaint, at approximately 7:13 pm—with an hour left for landing—smoke odour was detected from the left-side rear lavatory of the aircraft.

Upon opening the lavatory door, the cabin crew found it filled with smoke. Following inquiry, passenger Irfan Ahmed Iqbal Ansari (52), seated on seat 17F, admitted to smoking a cigarette inside.

The incident was immediately reported to the captain, and after the flight landed at Mumbai at 8:15 pm, the passenger was escorted along with airline representatives to the Airport Police Station, where a formal complaint was lodged.

In his statement, complainant Mohammed Aman said that the accused passenger endangered the lives of fellow travellers by smoking onboard, violating aviation safety norms under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Aircraft Rules.

The Airport Police have confirmed that an FIR has been registered against Irfan Ahmed Iqbal Ansari, and further investigation is underway.