So, apparently smoking on flights is a thing in Vietnam.

Vietnamese airlines are struggling with flagrant abuses of standard, in-flight safety regulations as customers have been found smoking in bathrooms and talking on mobile phones. When caught in the act, flight attendants say they are offered ludicrous excuses.

Of all the violations, smoking is the most serious as the dry air poses serious fire risks. Oh, and because you're on a plane. According to Tuoi Tre, when flight attendants catch offenders, usually locals, they are offered excuses such as blaming the person before them or claiming that they are were unaware of no-smoking rules:

An aviation official said, “Those violators pretended to be innocent, but they were actually aware that they might be fined so they hid themselves in the lavatory to smoke.”

Mobile phone usage is another common problem but at least flight attendants have a little fun with it sometimes:

"Ms. Thu Nga – vice chief of the hostesses’ team at Vietjet – told another story. Once, when a plane was at cruising altitude, a good-looking female passenger repeatedly pressed the button to call a hostess. Thu Hang went to help and was asked to remind the male passenger sitting next to her to stop talking on his mobile phone. Hang smiled and spoke loudly so that the passengers nearby could hear as well and said, “Don’t worry, you have no mobile phone waves at this height.” Silently, the man turned off his phone and put on dark glasses to sleep, Hang recalled."

Considering how serious these issues are, perhaps the fines, which currently range from VND500,000 - VND1.5 million, should be raised.

[Tuoi Tre // Image via Gabriel Lester]