MIAMI — A Spirit Airlines passenger disobeyed a law that went into effect more than 30 years ago and lit up a cigarette on board.
Cellphone video taken by fellow passenger early Tuesday shows the chaos on the flight from Detroit to Fort Lauderdale once smoke started billowing into the aisle.
Alexa Majdalawi of Boynton Beach told the Miami Herald the woman lit up a little after landing as the plane taxied on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
Majdawali said she first asked the woman to stop smoking, then complained to the flight attendant because she was having a hard time breathing.
The clip starts with another passenger yelling about how the smoker “messed everyone’s day up.”
Deputies enter the plane and start walking to the back, where the woman appears to be asleep.
“I’ve had a long day,” she said, according to Majdawali.
“Oh, my God, come get her!” says the other witness as people laugh and deputies try to find the alleged offender’s overhead bag.
This isn’t the first incident of this nature for Spirit. In 2019, a man lit up midflight heading to Minneapolis. Video shot by a fellow passenger shows the man taking a drag and then appearing to fall asleep before a flight attendant tells him what he is doing is “against the law.” He was reportedly escorted off by police once the plane was on the ground.
The Miami Herald reached out to Spirit Airlines and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for comment. It is unclear if the smoker was arrested, but she will likely face a hefty fine. An unruly passenger in Australia had to pay $4,000 after vaping on a plane in May.