Flight Attendant Suspended For Playing On Phone After Passengers Told To Turn Off Electronics

Time to turn off all portable electronic devices? Not for this flight attendant in China.

Passengers aboard a Shandong Airlines flight from Urumqi to Yinchuan Sunday were surprised to see a flight attendant using her cell phone, even playing with the device during and after the safety message mandating that electronic devices be turned off.

Mortified, one traveler defied the electronics ban herself, apparently using her own phone to snap a picture of the flight attendant. She later posted it to Weibo, China's version of Twitter. After the photo went viral, the South China Morning Post reports, the flight attendant was suspended.

In a statement posted to Weibo and translated to English by The Huffington Post, Shandong Airlines said the crew member's actions were "in violation of civil aviation safety regulations" and the airline's own service standards and management guidelines. Officials are investigating the matter.

Earlier this year, the Federal Aviation Administration investigated easing its restrictions on the use of certain electronic gadgets during flight, though no definite rulings have been made so far. In any case, full use of mobile phones will likely remain prohibited for the foreseeable future.