JEDDAH, 4 February — A court in Tabuk has sentenced a military officer to be flogged for using mobile telephone on a domestic flight of the Saudi Arabian Airlines. The man will receive 70 lashes for using his cellular telephone during take-off, ignoring repeated requests by flight attendants.
The court said it gave the judgment considering that the man's irresponsible action might have endangered the lives of passengers as "it could have created technical problems for the plane and killed all passengers on board."
Informed sources told Arab News that the man was held when he insisted on using his mobile phone while the plane was on take-off mode on a flight from Tabuk to Abha. He continued to use the phone despite repeated requests by flight attendants to refrain from using his telephone.
"The man's refusal to put down his phone delayed the flight for about half an hour," the sources said. "This led to a verbal fight between the officer and the crew," they added. Subsequently, airport security personnel had to escort the man out of the plane.
Security officers then handed the man to the Commission for Investigation and Public Prosecution to question him. Tabuk Governor Prince Fahd ibn Sultan later approved filing of a suit against the officer at the summary court.
The sources said this was for the first time that a Saudi summary court issued such a judgment against mobile phone users on flights. The measure was taken as part of the government's efforts to ensure safety of air passengers.
Saudia officials said at least seven of the airline's flights had in the past experienced technical faults and difficulties believed to have been due to passengers using mobile telephones during landing and take-off.
The punishment for violating rules on mobile phone use on aircraft was hitherto limited to off-loading the passenger. Saudia has previously registered a number of similar cases. On such occasions, passengers involved in the violation were only stopped from traveling on the flight.
Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, said last year that he had ordered imprisonment of a Saudi military officer for using mobile on a plane. The officer's action had delayed the plane's take-off for more than one hour and 15 minutes.
"I was fulfilling my trust; not applying my power," the defense minister said. "The man was given advice but he refused to heed it. He was then taken out of the plane by force. I was about to terminate him from service finally, but sympathizing with his children, and considering the crown prince's directives, we have taken him back to service," Prince Sultan told reporters.
Prince Sultan also disclosed then that a new system to prevent use of mobile phone on flights would be applied. He said a box would be made available at the entrance of planes to keep mobile phones.
Captain Saad Al-Shahry, director of safety at Saudi Arabian Airlines, spoke of the dangers of using mobile phones on flights. He said it would disrupt communications between the plane's pilot and airport control towers. "It may also change the plane's direction and disrupt its aviation system, and may lead to a crash."
He said efforts were underway to give the airline the right to take legal action against those who use mobile phones on its flights. "This is being studied by a security committee," he said, adding that a decision would be taken shortly.
