CHENNAI: A 37-year-old man, who smoked inside the flight, was arrested by the airport police on Tuesday.
The Indigo Airlines flight from Saudi Arabia was heading towards Chennai with 164 passengers. When the flight was mid-air the passengers noticed Vaithiyanathan of Nagapattinam was using the restroom every few minutes and the co-passengers were able to smell cigarettes.
Soon, the passengers told him not to smoke inside the flight. But, Vaithiyanathan told them that he is a chain smoker and he cannot stop smoking. He also told the passengers that he had kept a cigarette and light hidden inside his undergarments and would not harm anyone as he will smoke only inside the restroom. This led to an argument between the other passengers and Vaithiyanathan after which the air hostess informed the pilot.
Later, after the flight landed in Chennai airport the security officers took Vaithiyanathan to the airport police station.
The Indigo Airlines manager also filed a complaint with the airport police. Following that the police registered a case and arrested Vaithiyanathan.