P.M. BRIEFING : Lufthansa Won’t Ban Smoking

Fear of in-flight clashes between militant smokers and nonsmokers has prompted Lufthansa to drop plans to ban smoking on domestic flights, the airline said today.

The national German carrier had planned to ban smoking on its flights with the start of its winter schedule Oct. 28.

But Lufthansa said passenger reaction to its plans had been “extremely divided,” although a majority of smokers had indicated their willingness to accept the ban.

But since federal lawmakers decided not to pass no-smoking legislation, barring smoking on flights could lead to “polarization and confrontations among passengers,” the airline said. It said it could not allow passengers and cabin crews to be involved in such situations.