Flight Attendant Fired for Using Smartphone While Working In Flight Wins Judgment Against Airline for $22,000

A Finnair Airbus A319 in oneworld livery at Zürich Airport
United Airlines cracked down on the use of iPhones and other personal electronic devices on an aircraft when passengers were also on board, threatening to fire any who are caught doing so, but another airline has fired at least two dozen flight attendants for this breach of policy. One sued and was awarded a significant sum of money by a court.
“Use of a personal electronic device and/or accessories is not permitted while customers are on board the aircraft, with the exception of crew rest,” the airline said in a memorandum to cabin crew viewed by Frequent Business Traveler.
A Finnair flight attendant who was fired for using her smartphone while in flight took the carrier to court.
The Helsingin käräjäoikeus, or District Court of Helsinki awarded the flight attendant a judgment of €21,000 ($22,810) plus court costs and legal fees.
The Helsinki Court of Appeals later upheld the District Court of Helsinki’s ruling.
The airline offers free Wi-Fi to passengers who can access the system by entering their name and seat number. Because there was no other way to access the system, many flight attendants used their access to the passenger manifest to log in and check e-mail and social media.
This apparent breach of rules was so prevalent that Finnair has already dismissed 22 employees and issued warnings to an additional 101.
The District Court found that that over 700 employees had actually used Wi-Fi in this manner and held that the airline’s policy had been unevenly enforced.
Finnair is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland.
The unnamed flight attendant in question had also argued that logging into the Internet in this manner had caused no harm to passengers while Finnair charged that there was harm to both the company and to passengers.
United, in its memorandum to employees last month, asked them “[H]ow comfortable would you be asking someone for help if they were engrossed in their cell phone?”, adding “[W]hat impression would that give you?”
(Photo: Accura Media Group)