Flyer Jailed for Listening to Music Aboard Chinese Flight

Passenger arrested under law requiring phones to be powered off during flight.

Passengers aboard Chinese airlines are learning that civil aviation laws require cell phones to be turned off aboard commercial flights, with harsh penalties for those who do not follow the law. Chinese news website China.org.cn reports that at least two Chinese flyers have been arrested and jailed over cell phone laws.

Identified only by their last names, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced that one of the offenders was using their mobile device to listen to music as the aircraft prepared for landing in Beijing. Another flyer was using their phone to make a phone call while in flight – a crime in both China and the United States. Both flyers were jailed for five days over their offenses.

Operating a cell phone on a flight – even in airplane mode – is forbidden under Chinese aviation laws. Aviation officials for the growing marketplace say that even in airline mode, cell phones can create electronic interference for the aircraft. As a result, all cell phones must be powered off during all phases of flight. However, the ban does not extend to other personal electronics, including tablet computers.

Those who do not comply with the order of the law can be subject to fines of over $7,000 in addition to imprisonment. The news brief from the CAAC did not specify if the passengers were forced to pay fines in addition to their jail time.

The ban on cell phone use is just one way in which Chinese authorities are cracking down on those who behave badly in the skies and away from home. In 2015, the Chinese government announced a penalty plan for those who broke the law during a flight or while at a tourist destination.

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