JEDDAH, 8 May — Saudi Arabian Airlines has decided to ban smoking on all its flights from next month, according to Abdul Aziz Al-Hazimi, assistant executive vice president for marketing.
He explained that the decision was taken after the airline received an encouraging response from passengers who were questioned about the ban. The airline first banned smoking on its flights to Gulf states, then it was extended to flights to the Middle East and certain African countries.
In the third phase, Hazimi said Saudia increased the number of seats allocated for the non-smoking zone from 60 to 75 percent on all remaining international flights.
"We have now decided to ban smoking outright after conducting detailed marketing research. The majority of passengers demanded a total ban on smoking on all Saudia flights," he said.
Saudia was among the pioneers to ban smoking when all of its domestic flights of less than two hours duration were made non-smoking in 1987. The ban was extended to cover all domestic flights in 1994.
Smoking was banned on flights between the Kingdom and Europe and the United States in 2001.
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