I was kicked off a flight over a bizarre little-known rule after I snapped a sweet pic of my wife and kids
A PASSENGER was left stunned after being kicked off his flight due to breaking a bizarre little-known rule.
Aussie man Jimmy Mitchell had been preparing to board his Jetstar flight from Sydney to Brisbane with his family when his worst fears were realised.
The dad had taken out his phone to snap a last minute photo of his wife, Pauline, and two kids as they climbed the stairs of the plane on Wednesday.
All of a sudden, one of the cabin crew members screamed at him, allegedly calling him an “idiot”, and denied him access onto the flight.
What Mr Mitchell didn’t realise was that an announcement had been made to explain that passengers were not allowed to use phones on the tarmac while the plane was refuelling.
But according to the father of two, who is a seasoned traveller, he was unaware of the announcement because he had been wearing noise cancelling headphones.
He also added that there had been no signage or further instructions about the use of phones.
Taking to TikTok to document his experience, Mr Mitchell said: “This is the worst experience I’ve ever had flying.
“I try and get on the plane, I take a photo of my kids as they get on the plane, in flight mode, and the lady calls me an idiot,” he said, visibly distressed.
Mr Mitchell said he was left embarrassed and shocked when the flight attendant tried to get his attention to put the device away.
“I turned around in disbelief because I was half way up the stairs at this point. I basically stormed over to her and I was like, ‘Are you serious? What did you just call me?’,” he continued.
“She was basically saying ‘you can’t take photos on the tarmac, you can’t take photos on the tarmac’.”
By this point, Mr Mitchel”s family had already boarded the plane, leaving him stranded outside the aircraft.
But the Aussie claimed the back and forth before himself and the flight attendant continued to rage on.
“If she had literally just said anything else, like ‘get off your phone’, I would have done it,” he said.
“All she had to do was say something constructive. ‘Get off your phone,’ ‘you can’t have your phone out’ and I would have been like ‘sorry’, but she screams across the tarmac calling me an idiot.”
The flight attendant allegedly told Mr Mitchell that he wouldn’t be getting on the flight and “threatened” that police would be waiting for him.
He was eventually rejected from boarding the plane after alleging the flight attendant accused him of “almost assaulting her”.
“She turns around to me and goes ‘you almost assaulted me, get off the tarmac, you’re not getting on this plane’,” he fumed.
Shocked by the situation, Mr Mitchell made his way back inside the terminal, where he awaited further instructions.
He said his wife had his passport and boarding pass and claims staff didn’t even allow him to retrieve the items.
Eventually, he was allowed to board the flight “after cooler heads prevailed” but described the debacle as “one of the most traumatic experiences” he’s had.
He also claims he was almost reduced to tears “because it was that embarrassing”.
“It’s one thing that she was completely out of line for calling me an idiot, I can get over that I am a big boy,” he said.
“But next time someone you’re supposed to be a customer of calls you an idiot … you tell me next time how you would react in that situation.”
Mr Mitchell said he is more disappointed in the way the airline allegedly handled the situation and has demanded an apology for the “stress” caused to the family.
“The way they treated Pauline and the kids and not allowing me to communicate with them what was going on, was completely unacceptable,” he said.
The Aussie posted the video to the family’s TikTok account (@themothfamily), where they frequently post about their travels abroad.
But the debacle sparked a huge debate between followers over who is in the wrong.
“Wow … that’s insane! So sorry that happened to you!” one person wrote.
“Take it further and don’t let them get away with what they have done,” a second person said.
Others even said the flight attendant allegedly calling Mr Mitchell an “idiot” was “unacceptable”.
According to Jetstar, phones are not allowed to be used while on the tarmac “as this is an operational space and we remind customers of this via gate PAs”, news.com.au report.
A spokesperson for the airline also revealed to the outlet that the incident is being investigated.
“All our customers and team members have the right to feel respected when flying with us or when at work and we’re looking into what took place in this instance,” the spokesperson said.