The Important Reason Airplanes Still Have Ashtrays Despite the Smoking Ban

You may recall a golden era of commercial aviation when lobster platters and perfectly cooked steaks were wheeled down the aisle for dinner, the second deck was a lounge, and cigarette smoke wafted through the cabin. That's no longer the case — for the most part. While we may lament the loss of fancy meals and swanky onboard lounges, our lungs are thanking us for kicking out the smoke.

"All U.S. domestic flights became non-smoking in 1990, and this was the beginning of even greater restrictions on in-flight smoking — not only in the U.S., but in most parts of the world," aviation historian Shea Oakley tells Travel + Leisure. "Very few airlines anywhere allow for smoking on board today."

So, why do you still find ashtrays on airplanes? As with just about everything on a plane, it's about safety. "They're there so if someone were to break the rules, they would dispose of the cigarette in the ashtray as opposed to, say, a trash bin full of flammables," says Robert Antolin, chief operating officer at App in the Air. And fires on planes are a serious threat. 

If you're wondering whether cigarettes have caused plane crashes, the answer is yes, most likely — and perhaps more recently than you might think. In 2016, EgyptAir flight 804 from Paris to Cairo crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. The cause is thought to have been a fire in the cockpit sparked by a pilot's lit cigarette.

For safety reasons, the inclusion of ashtrays on planes is written into law by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "It is on the minimum equipment list for airplanes," says Antolin. All items on this FAA list must be in working condition for a plane to be cleared to fly. So, if there isn't an ashtray on board — or if the only one on board is broken — the plane will be grounded. (Most larger aircraft have more than one ashtray, just in case.)

Back when smoking was permitted, airplanes had ashtrays in the armrest of every seat. You might even remember seeing these well into the 2000s — even though the smoking ban went into effect in 1990, it took quite some time for those planes to be retrofitted with new seats. "Many, if not most, newer jetliners do not have ashtrays integrated into their seat armrests, as was standard prior to the 21st century," says Oakley.

Instead, you'll find ashtrays in plane lavatories, where some passengers might attempt to sneak a smoke. Don't do this — it's illegal. And just so we're clear, the ban on smoking also extends to e-cigarettes and vapes, too. If you're caught (and you likely will be since lavatories have smoke detectors), you could be fined up to $4,000.