The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing a new direct and final rule that will no longer allow pilots to turn “No Smoking” signs on and off, even though smoking has been banned on board commercial aircraft for years and the signs are never turned off anyway.
The FAA was forced to rethink its outdated regulations in February when United Airlines suddenly lifted groundings on its brand new fleet of Airbus A321neo aircraft because the state-of-the-art planes did not meet federal regulations for technical reasons.
The problem is that the computer software on United’s A321neo fleet is programmed to keep the “No Smoking” signs on at all times, leaving pilots no way to turn them off.
United could have applied to the FAA for a waiver—just as United was able to obtain a waiver for its entire Boeing aircraft fleet to keep its no-smoking signs permanently on—but it seems United forgot to do so.
As a result, United temporarily grounded five A321neo aircraft while it worked with the FAA on an exemption, bringing renewed federal attention to updating the outdated regulations.
“The FAA has long recognized that there is a conflict between the prohibition of smoking on most commercial aircraft and the requirement that manufacturers design and operators operate aircraft with ‘no smoking’ signs that can be switched on and off,” the agency’s final rule states.
“For nearly 30 years, the FAA has addressed this incongruity through equivalent safety findings and regulatory waivers,” the final rule continued.
The FAA has decided to skip its normal process of drafting new rules before final adoption because changing this rule would have “little or no practical impact on the American flying population” since smoking has been banned on commercial aircraft since 1990.
Aircraft manufacturers can continue to build planes with “no smoking” signs that can be switched on and off, essentially maintaining the status quo.
In 1995, Delta Air Lines was the first U.S. airline to request an exemption from the requirement that pilots have the ability to turn “no smoking signs” on and off. There are now 44 active exemptions from various airlines for the “no smoking sign” rule.
The FAA not only allows “No Smoking” signs to be permanently displayed, but also allows airlines to post such signs. However, the agency does not believe that we are yet at a point where passengers no longer need to be reminded that smoking is prohibited on board a commercial aircraft.
The final rule concludes: “Even though smoking is prohibited, there will still be passengers who wish to smoke despite the ban, and the FAA continues to believe that the sign or placard requirement provides a constant reminder to passengers of the smoking ban.”
Subscribe to our newsletter
No spam, just a weekly summary of the best aviation news you don’t want to miss
