Viral video has captured the moment an unlucky traveller was booted off a Jetstar flight to Bali for allegedly vaping on the plane.
The clip, uploaded to TikTok by user Ali earlier this month, showed a man in a green shirt carrying a suitcase and phone being escorted off by two stern-faced police officers.
“Don’t vape on planes you guys,” the text on the video reads.
She captioned the post, “Old mate’s sneaky vape cost him his flight.”
The ten-second clip has been viewed five million times.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, October 4, on flight JQ37 from Sydney to Denpasar.
The passenger was removed by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) after vaping in the toilet and setting off smoke alarms.
News.com.au understands the passenger wasn’t charged over the incident.
“Customers cannot vape on a plane, it’s as simple as that,” a Jetstar spokesman said.
“The use of all types of e-cigarettes on aircraft is strictly prohibited. The vapor set off the aircraft’s smoke alarms prior to departure and our crew called the AFP to assist with removing the passenger. Safety is our top priority, and this type of behaviour will never be tolerated by our crew.”
The TikTok video has attracted nearly 1700 comments.
“You mean don’t get caught vaping on a plane,” one person joked.
“Vape in the bathroom lol,” another woman said.
“Done it so many times, just need to zero it,” a man said.
But many commenters expressed disbelief at the stupidity.
“The lack of self control is amazing,” one wrote.
“This is such an obvious rule that’s even written all over the plane and when you buy your ticket. How do people do this anymore? You couldn’t go without it?” another asked.
The AFP has been contacted for comment.
Smoking, including vaping, is strictly prohibited on aircraft under Australian law and carries hefty penalties.
But the rise in popularity of vapes has led to a growing number of incidents of passengers testing their luck — and often being caught.
In July, a Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane to Bali was forced to divert to Darwin after three men became drunk and unruly, with one reportedly seen vaping in his seat.
In 2021, a Perth man faced a $16,800 potential fine after allegedly smoking a vape in his seat and in the toilet and illegally using his mobile phone when the plane was approaching to land.
frank.chung@news.com.au