Alliance Air Passenger Deplaned For Speaking On The Phone Before Take-Off
Summary
- A passenger on an Alliance Air flight was asked to leave after he consistently ignored instructions from the crew not to speak on his phone before take-off.
- The incident occurred on August 5th on a flight from Silchar to Kolkata.
- The accused passenger was eventually handed over to the police.
A passenger on India’s regional airline Alliance Air was asked to leave the aircraft after he ignored repeated instructions from the flight crew not to speak on his phone before take-off. The passenger was traveling with a large group of people who were also asked to leave as they refused to travel without him.
Deplaned for speaking on the phone
A passenger on an Alliance Air flight from Silchar to Kolkata was asked to leave the aircraft for refusing to follow rules regarding the use of electronic devices inside a plane. The incident took place on August 5th when a passenger kept speaking on the phone moments before take-off despite the crew’s repeated requests against it.
The cabin crew informed the flight’s captain, who also requested the passenger to discontinue the call, but this was also ignored. As this behavior was against safety protocol, the ATR 72-600 aircraft was brought back to the bay to deplane the passenger.
The man in question was traveling with 10 other people who refused to travel without him and were also de-boarded. The entire group was handed over to the police, but they were eventually released in the absence of any formal complaint from the airline or the airport authority. The Times of India quotes an airport official as saying,
“There were repeated requests by air-hostesses but the flier, Choudhury, continued to talk on his phone. In the meantime, the aircraft started moving on the runway. Ultimately, the matter was brought to the notice of the pilot, who also requested him to cut the call. But he continued to show arrogance and finally the pilot decided to halt the aircraft and bring it back to the bay.”
What are the rules for electronic devices inside planes?
In an era of round-the-clock connectivity, passengers increasingly carry several electronic devices to the aircraft, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. And while the cabin crew always instructs these to be on flight mode during safety instructions, most passengers don’t exactly know the reason behind it.
Photo: Avigator Fortuner/Shutterstock
The advancement of technology means that, unlike a few years ago, passengers don’t have to switch off their devices completely but simply put them on flight mode. But why is such a request made?
Flight crews in the past have reported several instances of wireless devices interfering with the aircraft autopilot and malfunctions to other critical systems. While a 1992 investigation by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) in the US found no solid evidence of mobile devices causing disruption to aircraft systems, some device-related rules still exist as a precautionary measure.
Photo: Yakobchuk Viacheslav | Shutterstock
It is believed that an aircraft’s communications and navigational systems, which utilize radio signals from the ground, could be compromised through interference from mobile phones and tablets as they use the same frequencies. Simple Flying has previously explained in detail why passengers are asked to turn on airplane mode.
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Source: The Times of India
