Flight attendants suspended for onboard phone use

Flight attendants with Shandong Airlines started browsing her smartphone immediately after an announcement reminded passengers not to switch on their electronic devices.

Passengers on airplanes are always reminded to turn off their cellphones and other electronic gagets once the cabin is closed. But this taboo was broken recently by two flight attendants with Shandong Airlines, and the evidence captured was spread all over the internet.

For anyone who's ever been on a commercial flight, they've heard repeated safety announcements from flight attendants asking passengers to turn off their mobile phones.

But it seems two air hostesses with Shandong Airlines needed some brushing up on that basic knowledge.

One started browsing her smartphone immediately after an announcement reminded passengers not to switch on their electronic devices. Another flight attendant soon joined her and held out a newspaper to hide what they knew was wrong.

All this was captured by a concerned passenger and later posted on social media.

Many were outraged. This microblogger says trained flight attendants, most of all, should know better and lead by example.

Some see this as a lesson to be learned by all. This netizen hopes the publicity will deter people from using cellphones on planes in the future.

But there are also those who sympathize with the flight attendants. This microblogger doesn't think it's that big of a problem to use cell phones on planes, a statement rejected by experts.

"Cell phones are banned while on board because the radio frequency emitted by cell phones could malfunction an airplane's equipment systems. They may affect the communication systems on board." Wang Yanan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge Magazine, said.

In response to the incident, Shandong Airlines released a statement on Monday saying the flight attendants had admitted to using a cell phone as accused of, and they had been suspended from their posts.