AN AIRPLANE mechanic may have averted a major catastrophe at Larnaca Airport when he snatched the cigarettes from two passengers who lit up just metres away from a plane with a full fuel-tank.
For his troubles, he has been rewarded with a law suit from the two disgruntled smokers.
According to Phileleftheros, the two Cypriot men had just got off the bus that leads from the terminal to the planes when they decided they had just enough time to have another cigarette before their flight, ignoring strict no smoking regulations.
What they hadn’t realised was that a few yards away, the plane they were about to board had just been filled with eight tonnes of kerosene.
The worst was averted when the two men were spotted by a plane mechanic, who ran towards them and told them to put out their cigarettes. When they refused, he snatched them out of their hands and put them out himself.
A fight broke out between the mechanic and two passengers, with the former notifying the airport police to come and intervene.
The plane captain had no choice but to refuse the two men entry onto the plane, which provoked further angry reactions from the smokers.
They were then led by police to the airport’s Immigration Service, where they were kept for a while and then released.
According to Phileleftheros sources, one of the two passengers was related to a former senior member of the police and the mechanic was told to “be careful” by other airport staff.
The paper suggested this may explain why no further action was taken against the two men, who violated extremely serious airport safety rules.
Larnaca police, as well as the police spokesman, yesterday said they had no knowledge of the case and therefore couldn’t comment.
“I heard that an incident took place in the airport a few days ago but that it wasn’t in the presence of the police,” one police source told the Cyprus Mail, adding that the police held no official report on the matter.
As the law states, such incidents are reported to the Committee for the Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents. In this case, however, the incident was logged into the incidents book and wasn’t deemed important enough to take further action.
And instead of facing prosecution, the two passengers are now suing the mechanic for publicly insulting them and causing them light injuries.
