Maj Ekkachai Siri of the Phuket Tourist Police told The Phuket News that the Frenchman, Sadik Radoine, was on Qatar Airways Flight QR842, direct from Doha to Phuket.
“The plane landed at 6:49am. Security at Phuket International Airport boarded the plane to take Radoine into custody before allowing the other passengers to disembark,” Maj Ekkachai said.
“We were told that Radoine lit a cigarette in the toilet during the flight. He was taken to a secure area and fined, and was spoken to by the airplane captain, then allowed to leave the airport,” Maj Ekkachai said.
Maj Ekkachai said that he was not informed how much Radoine was fined before being allowed to continue on his holiday.
Staff at the Qatar Airways office at Phuket airport declined to comment on the incident.