Plane passenger jailed for listening to music on flight

Businessman sitting on aeroplane seat, wearing headphones, rear view
Businessman sitting on aeroplane seat, wearing headphones, rear view



A man in China was jailed for five days for listening to music on his mobile phone during a flight during take-off in Beijing.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China revealed that police in the city detained three passengers between January and February for using their mobile phones during flights.

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China orders that phones are completely switched off during flights, with even the use of the flight mode feature banned.

Chinese media reports that keeping your phone switched on can carry a penalty of up to 50,000 yuan (£5,800), as well as leave the offender in jail.

The Washington Post reports that the rules only apply to mobile phones and not tablets.

China Eastern Airlines once explained that the problem was that many flight modes don't cut off signals from the phone completely.

In another incident, a passenger named Zhang was held for five days after being arrested upon landing at Beijing Capital International Airport.

China.org reports that the flight attendant said she "refused to turn off her phone" and "insisted on making calls during the flight". She also refused to cooperate at the airport police station.

The passenger who was arrested for listening to music spent five days in prison after landing at Beijing from Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province.

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