AirAsia To Stop Selling Cigarettes On Flights

But we do applaud the efforts that are being taken, namely the smoking ban at all eateries that came into force on 1 January this year.

By 1 January 2020, smokers that are caught in any restaurant and food stall, whether open-air or enclosed, will face a maximum fine of RM10,000 or a jail term not exceeding two years.

Now, another big player has taken a major step in this issue.

AirAsia has joined other airlines to stop selling duty-free cigarettes onboard all flights.

This announcement was personally made by AirAsia chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes on his Twitter account earlier today.

I'm super proud to announce that @airasia will stop selling cigarettes on duty free. Coupled with all our offices being smoke free and incentivsing staff to stop smoking with better insurance, we are putting our money where our mouth is.

— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) September 19, 2019

He went on to urge all governments in the region to ban smoking in public places in another series of tweets.

I urge all governments in asean to STOP SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES. Look how much we spend on health related smoking issues

— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) September 20, 2019

While duty-free sales on flights is a good way to help airlines increase revenue and promote products, the additional weight on the plane is gradually becoming a roadblock that could be turned into extra seats instead.

So in 2015, American Airlines had stopped all inflight sales of duty-free items onboard its international flights.

And just last year, Dutch airline KLM also discontinued the selling of duty-free tobacco and cigarettes onboard its long-haul international flights.