Low-cost Russian airline, Pobeda has banned passengers from chewing gum on board because it is spending too much scraping it off its airplanes interiors.
The airline, which operates 17 routes within Russia said it costs up to 100,000 roubles (£1,100) to remove each piece of gum left behind by passengers and to restore the equipment.
The news emerged while around 200 delegates from Europe, across Russia and Central Asia through to China, met at the second Routes Silk Road forum in Tbilisi, Georgia.
"We have imposed a ban on chewing gum since the middle of June due to losses sustained by the airline," Pobeda spokeswoman Yelena Selivanova.
The new rules will affect all passengers travelling with the budget carrier, though it is not clear how the airline will enforce the anti-gum policy.
Low-cost airline Pobeda isn’t just dealing with a gum problem though, as other guests are reportedly stealing thousands of pounds worth of equipment from the aircraft including life jackets and safety instruction cards among many items.
The carrier, which was launched last year, is Russia’s first budget airline, and initially faced difficulties during its launch when EU firms from which the country had leased airplanes, pulled contracts over the airline’s service to Crimea.
Currently, there are no other airlines which ban the use of chewing gum on board, although it is banned in some cities in Singapore because officials want to keep the country’s public spaces clean, with a $500 fine imposed for spitting gum out on the streets.
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