Thanks for all your thoughts - it's good to hear some different views on this. I'm inclined to agree with foxmoth - an extra stop would be a pretty bold statement to say the least. For all that, I got the impression that the Skipper concerned might just have been one of foxmoth's "SOME". And my all-too-short week in Goa would have got a little bit shorter.
Maybe the real danger would have been the lynching of our smoking friend by his 250 peeved co-SLF on the descent through Turkish airspace. Perhaps a case of air-rage caused by smoking rather than air-rage caused by non-smoking. Passive air-rage, even. Now that would have taken some explaining.
I wonder what would be the financial cost involved in an extra stop, in terms of fuel etc etc. Just interested. The a/c type was B767.
Thanks again. Keep 'em coming! And FWIW the Almirante's a non-smoker.....