A320
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Other / Unknown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
General Police / Security Involved
Human Factors; Procedure
Received a fire/smoke ECAM for the Lavatories. It went off twice. There was a male passenger in the aft lavatory smoking. I asked for police to meet the flight. Made male passenger get off the airplane upon arrival to talk to police and customer service agent. Because the ECAM warning was causing the flight attendant call bells to ring constantly; I was not able to communicate with the lead flight attendant through the interphone. I had to get up and open the door to ask what was going on and if we had an actual fire.I have had several smoking incidents over the years and no one seems to care that a passenger has caused an issue on the plane and has created a condition that jeopardizes the safety of the aircraft by creating excessive work load for us in the cockpit; and in the back the flight attendants are distracted not knowing if it is a greater issue of fire or a terrorist trying to do harm. The passenger just stands on the jetway while someone scolds them and then they walk away without any consequences. Why do we not have a set procedure to deal with this ongoing problem? I don't see much guidance in the FOM.
A320 Captain reported passenger was smoking in lavatory and activated the fire/smoke ECAM warning. Reporter stated dissatisfaction with the response to the incident.