Tobacco Documents Online

; c GAB 11t4dat-Reserve No-Smoking Section For Early Arrivals + • r Agency Proposes Requiring Nonsmokers to Show Up 5 Minutes Before Takeoff ey a wei.i. 5rwv.r.r A,vnrni. swfJ HIpn+1rr WASHINGTON - The Civil Aeronautics Board proposed requiring that airline pas- sengers show up at the boarding gate at least five minutes before departure to be as- sured a no-smoking seat. Under current CAB rules, airlines must accommodate any passenger who asks for a seat in the no-smoking section, as long as the customer arrives at the gate In time to board the plane. Any standby passengers must also be given no-smoking seats If they want them. But airlines have complained that when they make last-minute changes in seating assignments to accommodate late-arriving passengers who want no-smoking seats, flights are delayed and carrier costs are in- creased. In proposing the rule, the CAB ac- knowledged that existing regulations "might occasionally" disrupt airline operations, when passengers arrive just before takeoff. The CAB also proposed to deny standby passengers the right to demand no-smoking seats. The agency asked for comment from In- terested parties by June 23, before deciding whether to adopt the proposed rule changes. r ~ THE WALTREETi OURNAL, I Wednesday, April 23, 1980