Flight Attendants Admit To Secretly Vaping At 35,000 Feet – Then They Scold Passengers For Doing It

It’s been more than 24 years since smoking on board planes was completely outlawed in the United States, and anyone foolish enough to disobey those strict aviation rules can be hit with a civil penalty of up to $25,0000.

The threat of a hefty fine, plus a possible flying ban, hasn’t, however, dissuaded some passengers from trying to vape onboard planes… in fact, even some flight attendants admit they sometimes vape while simultaneously being expected to report any passengers they catch doing the same.

The law on this issue is clear–smoking traditional cigarettes isn’t only banned, but also any type of e-cigarette, including popular vaping devices.

But one flight attendant took to Reddit to share how she often spots fellow crew members taking a puff on a vape, and it turns out this isn’t as unusual as you might think.

“I joined one of the big three carriers recently, and I’ve seen so many FAs vape on flights,” the flight attendant wrote. “I’m not one to snitch, and as long as you’re not obnoxious, I mind my own business.”

“I’m just curious, how common is it at your carriers to have an FA [Flight Attendant] hit a vape mid-flight…. no shade, I’m just curious if I have sampling bias or whether it is as widespread as I think it is,” the post continued.

Other flight attendants quickly confirmed that crew members vaping onboard is pretty common, and some don’t even try to hide the fact.

“A super senior FA hit her vape in the galley when we were talking before boarding, and I was shocked. At least try to hide it,” one crew member wrote in response.

Another added: “I’ve seen FAs vape in the back and Pilots vape up front. It’s not something that I see every day, but I still do see it every now and again.”

A person confirmed the issue, saying: “I’ve seen it with my own eyes three times in 3 years, but I’m sure it happens way more than that.”

And yes, there were lots more anecdotes. One person responded: “One of my FA friends who’s also with the big 3 vapes on board but only in the lav her pilot husband does too mid-flight in the FD [Flight Deck] somehow, but I’ve only personally seen it openly (in the galley) once or twice.”

fellow FAs who vape
byu/Numerous_Advisor_179 inflightattendants

“FA here, I do it in the LAV,” another person admitted. “Never ever in front of pax or other crew.. I vaped on planes way before becoming an FA. As long as you don’t set off the smoke detector and no one knows, then what’s the issue?”

The question is, would you set off the smoke detector in the lavatory? Well, the jury is still out on this issue, officially, manufacturers of airplane smoke detectors say their devices are capable of detecting the aerosol vapor from e-cigarettes and vape devices.

It’s certainly true, though, that the industry is still catching up with the popularity of vapes.

Smoking was prohibited on all domestic and international flights on US carriers back in 2000, and in 2011, the then-Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) ruled that the existing ban also covered e-cigarettes and similar devices.

Several years later, however, the DOT felt compelled to address this issue head-on, issuing a final rule that explicitly banned the use of e-cigarettes on commercial flights.

“The Department took a practical approach to eliminate any confusion between tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes by applying the same restrictions to both,” the then U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said at the time.

Foxx said it was important to include e-cigarettes in the overall ban on smoking on airplanes because the aerosol they emit “can contain a number of harmful chemicals.”

Back in 2019, the leader of the biggest flight attendant union in the United States said she would like to see e-cigarettes and vapes completely banned from commercial air transport, prohibiting anyone from even taking one of these devices onboard a plane.

The reasoning was down to the lithium-ion batteries that power vapes and fears that these devices are more prone to damage that could cause a smoke or fire event.

Passengers have been banned from packing e-cigarettes in their luggage since 2015 for the same reason, but Sara Nelson, head of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), who is often referred to as the most powerful flight attendant in the United States, believes the ban should be extended to carry-on luggage.

Five years ago, Korean Air estimated that just over a third of passengers bringing an e-cigarette or similar device onboard its planes vaped during the flight. It probably wouldn’t come as a surprise if that number was even higher in 2025.