A 21-year-old traveller was removed from a Ryanair plane after setting off the alarm by vaping in the toilet. As police officers had to escort him off the aircraft, the flight was delayed by almost an hour and a half.
On 3 July 2025, passengers on a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Alicante saw their flight delayed by more than one hour. Although the Boeing 737 Max 8 was scheduled to leave at 7:05 am, the flight only took off at 8:28 am according to data by Flightaware.
The reason for the delay was a 21-year-old passenger, who went to use the toilet before takeoff. As he decided to use his vape while doing so, he set off the smoke alarm.
“The pilot then came out after the air stewardess explained what happened, and then the pilot stated he would be removed from the plane. The young lad waited for over six police officers to come on board. He was taken off, he was very calm, did not argue or anything, no drama,” Tristan James Walker, one of the passengers aboard, told Luxury Travel Daily.
EDINBURGH: A passenger aboard a Ryanair flight at Edinburgh airport in Scotland was escorted off the aircraft by six cops after he was busted vaping in the lavatory. The incident resulted in a two-hour delay a staffer reportedly fell ill. pic.twitter.com/Ns4a6CJM7F
— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) August 4, 2025
Serious consequences
While vaping is very popular at the moment, lighting up aboard a plane can have heavy consequences. The punishment applied by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) includes arrest and criminal charges, possibly leading to heavy fines and even jail time for up to two years. Moreover, when the behaviour of a passenger leads to a flight diversion, the full cost of that altered itinerary can even be assigned to them by the CAA.
According to a representative for Police Scotland, despite the man’s calm behaviour during the arrest, the passenger was indeed charged in connection with an aviation offence. A report was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
“The crew of this flight from Edinburgh to Alicante (3 July) called ahead for police assistance prior to departure after a passenger became disruptive onboard. This passenger was offloaded before this flight continued to Alicante. Ryanair has a strict zero-tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a respectful environment, without unnecessary disruption. This is now a matter for local police,” a spokesperson for Ryanair told The Independent.
It is not the first time that people who vape have caused disruptions on Ryanair flights. In 2024, a passenger was removed from a flight to Ibiza after being caught vaping aboard, and during a separate incident, three women were removed from a Ryanair plane at Manchester Airport after having ignored a warning to stop drinking and vaping.
