The little-known phone rule that could get you in trouble at airports
A LITTLE-known phone rule could get passengers in trouble at airports, or worse if they aren’t careful.
Everyone knows that their phone should be switched to flight-safe mode during their journey, but the rules are less obvious once the plane has landed.
One thing passengers can’t do is use their phones on the tarmac between the plane and the airport terminal.
Cabin crew are required to remind the people on their flights this before landing, as well as telling them they aren’t allowed to smoke either.
Some people assume the rule is in place to stop people’s phones interfering with the plane’s navigation systems.
However, it’s actually there for a much simple reason.
According to deputy chief executive of aviation safety in New Zealand, David Harrison, it’s to keep people safe when walking to the terminal.
He told Stuff NZ: “A passenger could injure themselves and potentially others if using a mobile phone whilst walking across the tarmac.
“Use of mobile phones by passengers is therefore restricted for health and safety reasons and to ensure Fuel Safety Zones (FSZ) are observed.”
While those rules are in place, in terms of punishment, there’s not much more airport staff can do than give you a good telling off.
There are no fines in place for rule-breakers.
Instead, they are there to keep people alert in an area surrounded by several different vehicles of varying sizes, and other people as well.
The rules are a bit stricter if you decide to stray from the pedestrian areas of the tarmac, however.
A woman was arrested in 2015 for running around on the tarmac after stealing a uniform at Melbourne airport in Australia.
The tarmac isn’t the only place where a phone could be dangerous for passengers during a flight.
Passengers who lose their devices in the seats of the plane are now instructed to tell their flight attendants, rather than simply go looking for them on their own.
Sun Online Travel’s resident flight attendant explained that this is to prevent the phone from catching fire.
They said: “Protocol dictates that any passenger who drops or loses their phones in the seats must inform the cabin crew, instead of looking for it themselves.
“This sounds a bit ridiculous, but it’s for a very good reason.
“Electronic devices like phones have lithium ion batteries, which are very flammable.
“All it takes is a crack in the wrong place on the phone and you’ve got flammable solvents exposed to the cabin, which can spark a fire.
“We know how the seats move and can be gentle with them while poking around in the crevices.
“Passengers aren’t likely to be as accustomed to the seats as we are and it creates more of a risk if they’re messing with the seat mechanisms while trying to recover their phones.”
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