A Delta Air Lines passenger refused to end their phone call or put their phone into airplane mode, and a Miami – Atlanta flight wound up having to be deplaned to remove them. It looks to me like this was flight 1323 on Monday based on the aircraft and delay.
Please be considerate. Please be considerate. Consider yourself and the rest of us.
Folks, everybody here, especially in first class, guys, excuse me, excuse me, everyone. Off the plane.
He’s not listening. Once again, folks, please make sure to grab your vitamins. Whatever it is.
Oh, man. You got 300 people having to do something crazy. So we’re all supposed to listen and he doesn’t? Just rip him off the plate. He’s in the front row.
Once again, folks, please remain calm at this time. Please remain calm at this time. Yeah. Thank you so much. You can follow.
People generally think:
- you need to just comply, because the result otherwise looks like this, even though
- the rule is stupid and selectively enforced but
- they don’t want to suffer through someone else’s calls onboard, either.
The FCC bans cellular phone use once the aircraft is airborne. FAA rules require passengers to follow airline procedures which generally require airplane mode once a plane’s doors are closed – that’s the bright line which is easier to enforce than wheels up (when flight attendants are seated).
No one thinks a single iPhone is going to break a 787. The concern, no matter how remote, is that given different antenna locations, potential for damaged devices and cheap electronics off TEMU, and multiple transmitters interacting together there could be issues with some sensitive system. Or that operating together and at scale many devices used by all passengers could create these issues.
And there’s a concern over ground networks, with phones ‘seeing’ many ground towers and moving rapidly between cells, increasing transmission power trying to maintain a link.
In contrast, many planes worldwide have approved systems that allow cell phone use – those onboard mobile systems use a picocell in the aircraft, so phones transmit at low power to the aircraft system, and the aircraft backhauls the traffic by satellite or air-to-ground link.
I do have to wonder, though, about a passenger who just refuses to get off their call. That’s going to end badly. If the call is important enough so that it’s worth things ending badly, it’s probably worth getting off. Even a plea of importance isn’t going to succeed, so they’re going to have to choose.
The only way to really keep a call going inflight is to fly on a part 135 carrier like JSX, which even has Starlink for strong connectivity, and that permits wifi calling – or fly private and call over the plane’s internet connection.
While that sucks for passengers that is standard protocol. If a passenger is asked to come off and won’t the police do not want to wrangle with someone and have others hurt. I’ve seen enough airplane/airport meltdown videos (not to mention traffic stops) where people think following police orders is optional and will actually fight the police. You don’t want someone thrashing around with innocent people around.
Possibly in this case they could have just deplanned first class as this moron was sitting up front. When the crew decides you’re coming off, you’re done.
Put on a No Fly List and trespassed from the airport. And Miami Dade cops do not play treat the thug like a toddler games. They won’t stand there for 30 minutes and beg you to comply. You’re coming off and quickly.
FAFO
@George Romey — This does seem to happen in Florida a lot…
Many, many, many years ago on a ME airline, a fellow passenger asked me to switch off my portable CD player, in case it interfered with the planes navigation.
I told him to let me know if we ventured off track or started to dive, and I would
I’ve wondered more than once why planes don’t have cell blockers. Time to leave? flip a switch and bye-bye cell signal within a 100-foot radius. No more relying on passengers following the rules, just eliminate the issue. Upon landing, flip it again, and the signal returns. Yes, I know cell blockers are illegal in the US, but I’d expect that issue could be overcome with legislation.
You’ve your homework on the technical issues of personal electronic devices and aircraft systems and you explained it sensibly and succinctly. Well done.
No airline is going to risk another “Dr. Dao” like what happened on Republic Airways (United Express) nine years ago. That crew called in security to remove a passenger who wouldn’t deplane (Dr. Dao) and he resisted (fought) the security officers – who used excessive force and injured him as they dragged him off the plane – resulting in the video and public backlash we all saw.
Crews now will force everyone off, even including themselves, instead. If the pilots aren’t going, how are you going to?
Having social media and the publicity around the Dr. Dao incident helped bring to light the lack of training and bad practices of the Chicago security officers. Without it, many other passengers could have the same thing happen to them without anyone hearing about it. But the unintended consequence is the likelihood everyone will be further inconvenienced (and forced to deplane) if one idiot is acting up and not following crew member instructions.
@Sarah M. — Woah, woah, woah. This is quite different than Dr. Dao. Delta didn’t do anything wrong here. United messed up with UA3411; they over-sold the flight. Do not besmirch Dr. Dao’s good name on here!
@Ron – It sounds simple, but jamming is far more problematic than it seems at first. Cell jammers don’t selectively block phones, they flood radio spectrum with interference, which is exactly what aviation systems are designed to avoid. Critical functions like navigation, radar altimeters, and ATC communications depend on clean signals. And as you’ve correctly pointed out, in the U.S., the bigger issue is regulatory, the FCC bans airborne cellular use largely to protect ground networks from interference. A moving jammer would create a roaming disruption zone that’s even harder to justify. It would also block emergency calls, which is a major legal and safety problem.
@Steve — Ahh, the ole Bart Simpson… “Turn it back on! Turn it back on!”
I can’t stand entitled people and their stupid phones. This guy really was that inconsiderate? He just had to stay on that important call at the INCONVENIENCE of 300 other people and potential cost of others missing connecting flights? If the call was that important and scheduled at the same time as his flight, he should have booked a later flight. The phone culture is toxic.
@D Fray — Having a malignant narcissist as our leader isn’t a good role model for the people…
Follow. The. Damn. Rules.
Ban them on the airline.
@1990
Obama hasn’t been President since 2016.
That must be the malignant narcissist of whom you speak?