Airline bans passenger over mobile phone use

Thomas Cook Airlines has reportedly banned a female customer from its flights after she refused to turn off her mobile phone.

A spokesman for the company reportedly told the Daily Telegraph that the woman was asked four times to turn off the phone during the flight from Glasgow to Dalaman, adding: “The pilot had no option but to confiscate the phone and we have banned her from our flights for life.”

The newspaper goes on to highlight a recent report by the CAA, which points out the dangers of using mobile phones on flights; tests have shown how mobiles can disrupt compasses and navigation bearings, and even interrupt communications channels. The CAA is now recommending that airlines should be much stricter regarding the carriage of mobile phones and should impose more rigorous checks.

One CAA expert reportedly told the newspaper: “The tests demonstrate that the use of mobile phones near an aircraft’s flight deck or avionics equipment bay can adversely affect systems essential for a safe flight.”