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Gadgets are top cause for flight disputes, attendants say

WASHINGTON — Frustrated flight attendants say electronic devices are now the number one cause of unruly behavior by passengers, with many refusing to switch them off when they’re told.

Three months after “30 Rock” star Alec Baldwin was thrown off an American Airlines flight for refusing to stop playing “Words With Friends” on his cell phone, flight attendants told The Wall Street Journal that Baldwin’s behavior was not uncommon and had become a major cause of disputes between cabin staff and passengers — though airlines don’t keep data on how many people are removed from flights for that reason.

“People have become so wedded to these devices, and a lot of people really question whether they need to turn them off,” said Southwest Airlines flight attendant Thom McDaniel.

Kelly Skyles, an American Airlines flight attendant, said, “Travelers who think ‘it’s no big deal’ or ‘the rule doesn’t apply to me’ — those are the hardest. Most passenger misconduct cases now deal with noncompliance with electronic devices.”

Airline rules backed by federal laws allow crews to turn a plane back to the gate and toss passengers off flights to prevent disputes in the air.

In most cases, it isn’t the initial issue that gets people kicked off planes — whether they’ve been told to pull up their saggy pants, clean up their language or stop playing on their iPhone — it’s the ensuing argument.

Flight attendants at American Airlines reported 1,306 incidents of customer misconduct to their union in 2011, up slightly from 1,248 in 2010. Most didn’t escalate into confrontations or get reported to law enforcement.

The numbers have been going up for three years, with most of the increase related to electronic devices, flight attendants say, adding that one or two people on almost every flight don’t seem to think the device ban applies to them.

“There’s a lack of awareness of what the rules are, why the rules are there and what the flight attendant’s role is,” said Veda Shook, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant and president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

To read more, go to The Wall Street Journal.