FAA finally fixes no smoking sign rules

Six months ago United Airlines briefly grounded its brand new A321neo fleet because the “No Smoking” signs in the cabin could not be turned off. Today the FAA is proposing to finally fix that rule, allowing “aircraft to operate either with ‘No Smoking’ signs continuously illuminated or with ‘No Smoking’ signs a crewmember can turn on and off.”

The FAA has long recognized the incongruity between the prohibition on smoking in most commercial aircraft and the requirement for manufacturers to construct, and operators to operate, aircraft with “No Smoking” signs that can be turned on and off. For almost 30 years, the FAA has addressed this incongruity through equivalent level of safety (ELOS) findings and regulatory exemptions, which allows aircraft to have “No Smoking” signs that are continuously illuminated during flight operations. This rule makes such ELOS findings and regulatory exemptions unnecessary.

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United was able to quickly resume flights with its A321neo fleet, filing for and receiving an exemption from the FAA. In the weeks that followed, however, additional airline exemption applications came in from multiple US commercial operators. The FAA approved all those requests, of course.

Delta Air Lines was the first to request an exemption from the rule. That was approved in 1995. The FAA reports 44 active exemptions regarding the regulations today. It is clear that the rule need no longer exist.

Now, after decades of requiring airlines to file the additional paperwork based on operating policies from a bygone era, the agency is finally fixing its policies.

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The FAA is publishing the revision as a “direct final rule,” indicating it expects no objections, “The rule imposes no new duties on regulated entities and will have little to no practical effect on the American flying public.”

It will take effect 60 days from publication in the Federal Register, which is expected to be 23 August 2024. The full filing can be found here.