Behaving badly on a flight can result in a hefty fine. A Jetstar passenger learned that the hard way when he was forced to pay a $700 fine after a flight on the budget airline.
Grant Elton King simply wouldn't put his phone away on a Sydney to Gold Coast flight last year. He was caught texting and making phone calls on his Samsung Galaxy 4 even after he was repeatedly told not to do so during takeoff and landing. When a flight attendant confronted him because of the cell phone use, he also admitted that he hadn't worn a seatbelt during the whole trip, News.com.au reports.
After the flight landed at the Gold Cost Airport, King was arrested by the Australian Federal Police. He recently pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching the Civil Aviation Act on June 11, 2013.
King's lawyer, Michael McMillian argued that King, a building site manager, was taking important work calls and couldn't figure out how to turn his new phone off after. However Magistrate Ron Kilner laughed at this claim and called it a "rubbish excuse."
"It's a well-known safety practice to switch off your phone and put on your seatbelt when you board a plane," Kilner said according to News.com.au. "Your behaviour on this occasion was one of defiance that you thought you would do what you liked despite what the officials of the airline asked you to do and to hell with other passengers and the safety of the aircraft."
A passenger who is caught using a mobile phone on a flight can receive a fine of up to $1,700 and the maximum fine for not wearing a seatbelt is $4750.
McMillan asked for leniency on behalf of King, saying that he was already on a suspended sentence in New South Wales for stalking and a new conviction could send him back to jail. King caught a break and was only given a $500 fine for the phone and $200 for not wearing a seatbelt.
King promised to try to remember to turn off his phone during his flight home to Sydney.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
