Man charged with assault, smoking on aircraft

Police on Wednesday charged a man after he assaulted a flight attendant who told him off for lighting a cigarette while disembarking an airplane that was refuelling at Larnaca airport.

The man, whose flight arrived on the island shortly after midnight on Wednesday, was on the stairs getting off his plane when he lit up a cigarette.

A flight attendant spotted the passenger and asked him to put out his cigarette explaining there was a risk of ignition since the plane was refuelling at the time.

But the man refused and started yelling at the flight attendant, who grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth and put it out.

Then the man slapped the employee in the face and continued shouting while lighting a second cigarette, police said.

The flight attendant filed a complaint with the police against the 47-year-old who was charged with assault and violating a smoking ban.