Man jailed for using mobile phone on honeymoon flight

A man who refused to stop playing a game on his mobile phone on a flight back from his honeymoon was jailed for four months yesterday.

Sentencing Faiz Chopdat, 23, from Blackburn, Lancashire, Judge Mort said his actions could have proved fatal by interfering with the aircraft's autopilot and communications system.

Chopdat was returning to Manchester airport from Luxor in Egypt on 10 September last year when he was warned twice by cabin staff to switch off his mobile. He was playing a game called Tetris while sitting next to his wife. Another passenger also asked him to turn it off.

Sitting at Minshull Street Court in Manchester, Judge Mort said airlines should consider removing phones from passengers before they boarded. The British Airline Pilots' Association said the sentence sent out "the right signals" but said there was no need to ban phones on flights.

Roger Hedgeland, representing Chopdat, said his client had been acting with "bravado" after his honeymoon.