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Using phones on a plane can be punishable.
Suranjit Das Choudhury, 45, was on his way to Kolkata recently via Alliance Air. As per reports, at the time of take-off, he was on a call and wasn't putting down the phone after multiple requests by the staff. He eventually got into an altercation with the flight crew, after which he was deplaned from the flight. Ten other passengers who refused to fly without him were also removed from the flight.
The plane, which was by then moving, was brought back and the cabin crew handed all 11 of them over to the local police for breach of in-flight safety protocols. No case was lodged though.
Is using a phone on a plane a legal offence?
Yes, as per the Civil Aviation Requirements by DGCA, "unruly/disruptive behaviour on-board aircraft" can be deemed as a punishable offence.
This means one shouldn't refuse to listen to the pilot's instructions/announcements (including the one asking to not use phones during take-off and landing) which are for passenger safety.
Although phone signals no longer cause major system malfunctions thanks to improved technology, these signals can still disrupt pilot communication. The signals could sound like noises in the pilot's headphones which could result in him/her missing out on some vital details from the radio transmission. This can be potentially hazardous.
So, the pilot announces to the passengers to put the phone in airplane mode or turn it off altogether at least while the plane is taking off or landing.
Things however are changing and places like the EU and the UK allow in-flight phone usage. With the introduction of 5G in planes, flight mode could be a thing of the past. But, for that, the in-flight equipment like the altimeter (which tends to get hampered by 5G signals) will have to be upgraded.
So until the flights are technically equipped to handle phone usage, it is advised not to use phones at least at the time of take-off and landing.