Call it madness, you wont be out of place. A passenger who resorted to smoking onboard a South African Airways flight from Jonannesburg to Lagos would have his day in court as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has handed over the culprit to the police for prosecution.
The aviation regulatory body said the the passenger (name withheld) was on board a South African Airways 060 from Johannesburg to Lagos was alleged to be smoking on board the aircraft in contravention of Section 58 of the Civil Aviation Act 2006, Part.17.97.2 (a) and (c) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulation 2012 (Nig.CARs).
This was contained in correspondences between the Authority and the Nigeria Police Force pledging to collaborate to ensure adequate investigation preceding the prosecution.
In line with Part 20.2.3.42 of the Nig.CARs, the stipulated penalty for smoking on board an aircraft is imprisonment of not less than two months.
It is important to note that according to the Regulations all airlines should and must as part of pre-flight formalities announce that smoking is prohibited anywhere in the cabin including the toilet.
This culprit, however, failed to adhere to this warning.Therefore; the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will collaborate with the police to ensure prosecution.
