Sound advice

Have you noticed, as soon as your plane touches down and comes to a halt; out come the mobile phones. It is as if those few hours without communication have been utterly unbearable and amends must be made straight away. After all, there may have been an important message whilst we were in the air which must be retrieved without delay and of course it is imperative that folks announce their arrival as soon as possible.

Passengers bound for Newcastle Airport from Murcia came unstuck though when their plane was partially dismantled because a mobile phone which had been switched on fell into an air vent.

The Jet2 flight had just landed at Murcia when a traveller dropped the phone, which slid out of sight. As it had been turned on, airline bosses refused to allow the plane to take off until it was located.

Holidaymakers were delayed for three hours while the cockpit area and front row of seats was taken apart. A spokesman for Jet2.com thanked the passengers for their patience during the incident on Sunday.

He said: "We always operate to the highest standards of safety and care and whilst it was no doubt inconvenient that people had to wait for us to retrieve the phone, any mobile or similar communications device that is switched on would need to be removed from the aircraft in order to ensure maximum safety for our passengers.

"We would like to remind all those travelling by air not to switch their phones on until they reach the airport terminal."

Repeat: DO NOT SWITCH ON YOUR PHONE UNTIL YOU REACH THE TERMINAL BUILDING. Those few minutes of delay could save passengers on the flight back a long delay.