Flight delayed by search for ashtray

LONDON, May 30 (UPI) -- A British Airways flight was delayed for 25 minutes at London's Heathrow Airport as crews searched for a replacement bathroom ashtray, officials said.

After passengers were told the crew needed to find a "vital" part before taking off, it turned out the important piece was an ashtray to replace one that was missing, even though smoking on the aircraft was banned, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.

A new ashtray was eventually found after much searching, during which the flight's captain allegedly suggested the crew "rob" another plane of its bathroom ashtray.

A British Airways spokesman told the British tabloid the flight had to be delayed because all planes in Europe are required by law to have ashtrays.

"It is a legal requirement, under air navigation orders, to have ashtrays because while smoking is not permitted on flights, if someone were to light a cigarette on board there must be somewhere to safely extinguish it," the spokesman said.