As a person who lives 100 miles from the airport where people fly into, I routinely leave for the airport before the plane I’m meeting takes off. So if I got that text, I would be very happy.
Many people live quite a ways from the airport and I would hate for my loved one, especially an elderly one to be at the airport without any information as to what was going on. Maybe the personnel had their reasons but so do the passengers.
Even under normal circumstances, sending text messages (or other cell phone use) using cellular networks while an airplane is in flight is prohibited on US airlines.
In my experience, people are more likely to obey orders if they’re given an understandable reason. Blanket orders are subject to interpretation and misinterpretation.
In an emergency, I would not expect the crew to give me an explanation - I want them to concentrate on dealing with the emergency.
I think @ucbalumnus probably has the right explanation. You are never supposed to send a text or call from an airplane in flight in the US.
Once you’re off the plane the airline has no direct authority. They would have to call the police and press charges, maybe the usual “interfering with a flight crew”. Then the cops would have to get a warrant to search the phone, if you wanted to take things that far.
But if you’re the passenger just wanting to get on the next flight to your destination, it’s easier just to go along. Those same airline personnel could certainly (legally) ruin your day if they wanted to.
Solution (if there’s a next time): Use voice-to-text. You can press the send button surreptitiously, in your pocket.
If they’re having people brace for landing or there is significant turbulence, a handheld phone could end up being a projectile that could injure a fellow passenger or flight crew. On an airplane, a flight attendant’s word is law. Disregard their instructions at your own peril.
Let’s just say he has learned a lesson and he will never fly that airline again.
I wonder how he could even text while up in the air. I don’t recall finding a Sprint signal at 35,000 feet! Maybe he paid for wifi?
I think this story sounds odd, too. Yes, the FA tell you not to use your device when taking off and landing, and I imagine they would tell you not to if you were in crash position. People disobey those instructions and the FAs go around and insist they comply. I have been on plenty of flights during which the FAs have to tell people to put their seat backs up, put their laptops away, sit back down, etc. That part sounds normal.
But the passenger turning in the texter and him then having to show his phone to some airline personnel? That sounds odd.
Does the young man look Middle Eastern? Is this an airline that has had a lot of bad publicity lately?
It is certainly possible for cell phones to find cell towers from 7 miles up with no obstructions between the tower and the aircraft. But part of the stated reason for not allowing cellular network use from aircraft in flight is that the rapid movement of the cell phone in an aircraft can be disruptive to the cellular networks.
If the aircraft had in-flight wifi, they probably would have turned it off when they told everyone to stop using cell phones and other devices.
The biggest airlines in Atlanta are probably Delta and the regional subcontractors flying as Delta Connection (Endeavor (subsidiary of Delta), Skywest, ExpressJet, GoJet, Republic, Compass). Delta has in-flight wifi; not sure if any of the Delta Connection subcontractors do.
Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit also have significant operations in Atlanta.
I’ll note that I’ve looked in all the usual forums I would go to to find out about some weird issue with a flight, and I find precisely zero flight issues involving Atlanta during the first week of February. When did this happen?
My cousin is 47 and white - pretty nerdy looking. Defintely not middle eastern appearance.
It happened Tuesday - 2/6. I could find no mention of it online either.
He did get to his final destination - 4 hours late. Yes - Delta.
I believe this is the flight:
Delta
– DL 3540
DIVERTED TO ATL
2:00 pm 3:01 pm
Updated 2d 10h ago
ATL
ATL
Atlanta · Tue, Feb 6
Departed Terminal Gate
5:35 pm S D27
Scheduled departure 2:00 pm
Atlanta · Tue, Feb 6
Arrived Terminal Gate
6:25 pm - -
Scheduled arrival 3:01 pm
Did they ever tell passengers a reason for the return to ATL that you know of? Just curious.
No. It was very secretive. My cousin’s perception was an issue with the front landing gear because of the rough landing that seemed more pronounced in the front of the plane.
He’s happy no one was hurt, he’s happy he got to his destination safely. It’s just the airline personnel insisting they had the right to see the text he sent or confiscate his phone that is the issue.
Weird. I found the flight with what you gave me, and looping it back around to Atlanta actually took more time and covered just short of the distance of going straight through to the destination—makes me think that a landing gear problem makes sense, since if they’d had to replace the plane, it’s easier to do that at a hub.
I still found no record of an emergency landing—though like I said, with the flight number I found the diversion—in the usual places to look. I don’t have the access an airline employee or even a travel agent would have, though.
Yes, it would be easier for the airline (Skywest in this case) to repair or substitute the aircraft at a hub than at a low volume minor airport.