We are all familiar with the sight of the 'no smoking' light next to the seatbelt signs on commercial aircraft. The general outlawing of smoking onboard aircraft was a gradual process, with different countries imposing different restrictions at different times. However, a key turning point occurred just over 24 years ago, in January 1998, involving a tragic incident onboard Olympic Airways flight 417.

The flight in question

Former Greek flag carrier Olympic Airlines bore the name Olympic Airways for much of its 52-year history. This included the time when the incident involving flight 417 took place, namely January 4th, 1998. The flight was a service that originated in Cairo, and its destination was New York. As used to be more common with long-haul flights in the 20th century, it made a stop along the way.

The location where the service touched down en route was Olympic's main hub in Athens, Greece. This is where Dr Abid Hanson and his wife, Rubina Husain, boarded the New York-bound flight. The aircraft operating the flight on January 4th, 1998, was a Boeing 747 that had both sections for both smokers and non-smokers in its sizeable economy class passenger cabin.

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Smoking was only partially outlawed

At this time, smoking wasn't fully outlawed in passenger cabins, although it had been prohibited in aircraft bathrooms since 1973. This came about after a disposed of cigarette in a bathroom was thought to have been a factor in the crash of Varig flight 820 near Paris. This disaster killed 123 of the Boeing 707's 134 occupants.

10 years later, in 1983, an inflight bathroom fire involving Air Canada flight 797, which killed 23 of its 46 occupants, prompted airlines to be required to install smoke detectors in their aircraft toilets. As such, passengers could no longer retreat to the bathroom to smoke. However, certain countries and airlines still permitted the practice in certain areas of their main passenger cabins.

Interestingly, this played a role in the diversion of British Airways flight 9 in 1982. This saw a Boeing 747 lose power to all its engines after flying through volcanic ash. This caused smoke to accumulate, but it was initially thought to merely have been from cigarettes. In any case, the jet touched down in Jakarta with no injuries.

No clear divide between sections

In 1996, two years before the incident involving Olympic Airways flight 417, the ICAO had pushed for a blanket smoking ban onboard international flights. However, no such legislation had come into place by the time January 4th, 1998 rolled around.

As such, when Dr Abid Hanson and Rubina Husain boarded the 747 in Athens, they entered an aircraft with smoking and non-smoking sections. The couple were seated in the non-smoking section, due to Hanson's sensitivity to smoke and 'recurrent anaphylactic reactions.' However, being seated apart from the smokers wasn't enough in this case, as there was no physical divide between the two sections.

As such, non-smokers could still experience second-hand smoke if seated nearby. Owing to Hanson's sensitivity, and the fact that their seats were just three rows from the smoking section, the couple requested if they could move elsewhere.

A tragic allergic reaction

The flight on which Hanson and Husain were traveling was a busy one, as is often the case for transatlantic sectors. However, there were 11 vacant seats onboard, to which Hanson could have moved in order not to trigger his sensitivity to smoke from the adjacent section. As such, the family requested such a transfer.

However, an Olympic Airways flight attendant refused this request, despite it being made three times according to court documentation. With the prevalence of smoke increasing in the cabin, Dr Hanson, who is also reported to have suffered from asthma, elected to take a walk towards the front of the jet. He did so in search of the fresher air which could be found away from the smoking section.

Sadly, however, he took this evasive course of action too late. Following his exposure to second-hand smoke, he later succumbed to an allergic reaction. Tragically, Dr Hanson subsequently passed away a few hours later, despite medical attention.

The court case

Following Hanson's death, Husain filed for damages against Olympic. She did so under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention, which permits damages to be claimed following inflight accidents. Having filed the claim in a California federal district court, Husain was awarded a $1.4 million sum in damages upon the decision that Hanson's death was accidental.

Olympic Airways elected to appeal this preliminary ruling, with the suit going all the way to the Supreme Court. The carrier argued that the nature of Hanson's death, involving a pre-existing condition aggravated by airplane conditions, could be seen as not having been accidental under the statutes of the Warsaw Convention.

The case was argued in November 2003, and decided the following February. While not unanimous, the court ruled 6-2 in favor of Husain, citing the refusal to allow Hanson to move seats as a key 'link in the chain' when it came to his passing.

Why do bathrooms still have ashtrays?

The tragic events of Olympic Airways flight 417, and the subsequent case of Olympic Airways vs Husain, are seen as a key turning point in the debate surrounding inflight smoking. The late 1990s and early 2000s saw several wider bans implemented, such as in the US in 2000. Previously, smoking had been permitted there onboard commercial flights that were longer than six hours.

Smoking is now almost universally outlawed onboard passenger aircraft. However, you will probably have noticed that their bathrooms still have ashtrays and 'no smoking' signs. According to Time, this is so, if a passenger does feel the need to break the rules, they have somewhere safe to dispose of their cigarette.

What about e-cigarettes?

In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes (sometimes known as 'vaping') has become a more common phenomenon, as people look to find alternatives to smoking. As such, this is also an area where airlines and airports have had to draw up rules. Being a relatively new zeitgeist, Gatwick Airport Guide notes that "there are no blanket rules on using e-cigarettes on planes."

Taking the UK as an example, while there is no worldwide directive on the matter, vaping in the country's airports and on its airlines is widely outlawed. Furthermore, they can only be carried in passengers' hand luggage. This means that e-cigarette users must store the corresponding liquids in vessels of 100 ml or less.

Do you remember the incident involving Olympic Airways flight 417? What are your memories of the inflight smoking era? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Sources: Gatwick Airport Guide, Time