Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airline (PIA), the national flag carrier, has introduced new rules, banning crew members from smoking onboard aircraft with heavy fines.
In a statement, the PIA management said on Saturday that “in all shapes and formats, domestic or international, smoking is banned on flights, as per Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) directives. The PIA has proposed fines for those caught smoking onboard”.
According to a letter issued by PIA’s Flight Operations Chief Capt Syed Asif Gilani, the PIA aircraft were putv to the Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA). During the inspection, the letter said that the cockpit crew was found violating the strict ‘no smoking on board’ policy.
Smoking ban for crew members on onboard
“PIACL corporate policy has zero-tolerance against smoking on board,” the letter read. It added that those violating the policy would be fined up to Rs100,000.
“As per previous circulars, it is again reiterated that the crew members are required to report such violations. Should the other aircraft crew fail to report the violation, they would be deemed equal violators and face a similar fine. The crew is now again reminded to adhere to policy,” the letter said.
On every flight (domestic or international), announcements are made that smoking on board, whether conventional or electronic, is not allowed onboard during flights.
