(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, no person may operate a passenger-carrying airplane unless each lavatory in the airplane is equipped with a smoke detector system or equivalent that provides a warning light in the cockpit or provides a warning light or audio warning in the passenger cabin which would be readily detected by a flight attendant, taking into consideration the positioning of flight attendants throughout the passenger compartment during various phases of flight.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may operate a passenger-carrying airplane unless each lavatory in the airplane is equipped with a built-in fire extinguisher for each disposal receptacle for towels, paper, or waste located within the lavatory. The built-in fire extinguisher must be designed to discharge automatically into each disposal receptacle upon occurrence of a fire in the receptacle.

(c) Until December 22, 1997, a certificate holder described in § 121.2(a) (1) or (2) may operate an airplane with a passenger seat configuration of 30 or fewer seats that does not comply with the smoke detector system requirements described in paragraph (a) of this section and the fire extinguisher requirements described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) After December 22, 1997, no person may operate a nontransport category airplane type certificated after December 31, 1964, with a passenger seat configuration of 10-19 seats unless that airplane complies with the smoke detector system requirements described in paragraph (a) of this section, except that the smoke detector system or equivalent must provide a warning light in the cockpit or an audio warning that would be readily detected by the flightcrew.