Because he smoked in the on-board toilet, a passenger was thrown off the plane to Antalya during an unscheduled stopover in Hanover.
The 33-year-old ignored the crew's request after the start in Hamburg and finished his cigarette, the federal police said on Monday.
Accordingly, it was his downfall that the airline had decided to stop over in Hanover because a holiday flight there with the destination Antalya had failed due to technical problems.
Actually, only the stranded passengers of the canceled flight should be included in the stop.
But the pilot of the plane from Hamburg also excluded the smoker from the onward flight to Turkey.
An administrative offense report was issued against the 33-year-old.
While his family flew on vacation, the man had to travel home from Hanover to Hamburg by train, it said.
The incident happened on Friday.