The $25,000 cell phone call.

It has come to my attention that a guy was fined $25,000 recently for not complying with a flight crew member's request that he turn off his cell phone while on the plane on a flight from Austin to Dallas. The airline in question here was Southwest. Now, I know they have the right to have their rules, and that's fine, but there should be room for exceptions.

The man was on the phone with a doctor at the hospital where his dad lay dying. They were discussing whether or not to resuscitate him. It was literally a life or death matter that could not wait until the plane landed. Rules are rules, I get that, but this extenuating circumstance clearly called for an exception. Southwest not only could have, but should have made an exception and given the guy a break. It was their moral obligation and duty to do so.

What about the safety of the other passengers and the crew you ask? Thank you for asking. That is a valid question and an important consideration. The REAL question we must ask ourselves though is do we want to fly on something that could quite possibly be easily brought down by something as small as a cell phone? Or better yet, do we want to spend our hard-earned travel dollars with an airline whose officials are clearly too stupid properly carry out a zero tolerance policy? For me, then answer to both questions is a resounding NO!! Stupid truly is and stupid does, and in this case Southwest Airlines did a ginormous piece of stupid!!

Jim Chitty