We imagine that a lot of you fly when you go to Disney World.
Air travel
That means you’re probably already familiar with what you need to do if your flight gets delayed or even canceled. You probably also know all about the transportation from Orlando International Airport to Disney World. You might even have a favorite airline (we know LOADS of DFB readers love Southwest Airlines). But do you know about some weird rules that could potentially keep your flight from ever taking off? Well, one regulation recently grounded five planes. Let’s talk about it!
If you’ve ever looked up while sitting on a plane, you’ve probably seen those illuminated “No Smoking” lights. Those are a throwback to the days when people were allowed to smoke on airplanes. Well, to this day, there’s a regulation from 1990 that says that aircraft crew must be able to turn those lights on or off.
No smoking light
According to Gizmodo, United Airlines was forced to ground five of its aircraft earlier this week due to this rule. Smoking has been banned on aircraft for 24 years, but because this old regulation remains in place, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) required that United Airlines not fly those aircraft because the “No Smoking” light couldn’t be turned off.Â
©Getty Images
For United, four of its five Boeing models of aircraft have “No Smoking” signs that stay illuminated at all times. Those particular aircraft, though, received an exemption from the old law. The five Airbus A321neo aircraft that were recently grounded were not included in the exemption. United has removed those five aircraft from service but is seeking FAA approval to exempt those from the old law, too.  For now, the FAA is allowing those aircraft to remain in service while it considers the exemption request, per Gizmodo.
©United
The good news is that this didn’t result in any flight cancellations and shouldn’t affect upcoming flights. For now, aircraft will still have to file for an exemption from that old rule if they want to stay in the air.
Stay tuned to DFB for more.
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This is government regulation at its finest!
Or — would the plane go down if it were allowed to take off with the rogue light in a permanent state of ON?
Even though they never let you smoke in the plane…