Major U.S. and foreign airline associations unanimously endorsed a Transportation Department proposal to ban the use of electronic cigarettes on scheduled airline flights to, from and within the U.S.
In a letter to the DOT, the groups said all airlines already prohibit the use of e-cigarettes and would welcome a government ban.
They also urged the DOT to specifically incorporate the ban into FAA regulations, because the FAA has the additional power to levy fines on individual passengers. The letter was signed by IATA, the Air Transport Association, the Air Carrier Association of America and the Regional Airline Association.
The DOT proposed the ban in September fearing that electronic tobacco products, which are inhalers that come in the shape of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, pens or other objects, may introduce harmful vapors into aircraft cabins, even though they do not rely on combustion.
A recent court decision established that the products can be regulated as “tobacco products.”