Flight delayed after passenger refuses to use flight mode

Qantas confirmed to 3AW a passenger on the flight "did not follow instruction with regard to an electronic device". Photo / 123RF

A Qantas flight was forced to return to the gate because a passenger refused to put his tablet on flight mode as required, it has been reported.

Melbourne's 3AW was told flight QF2133 from Canberra to Melbourne on Monday night was an hour late as a result.

That passenger was a company chief executive, the station was told.

Qantas confirmed to 3AW a passenger on the flight "did not follow instruction with regard to an electronic device" on a flight between Canberra and Melbourne on Friday night and the plane had to return to the gate.

The airline added that safety was its top priority.

It's not the weirdest reason for a flight delay we've seen lately.

Last week, a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Bali had to make an emergency landing in India after a woman on board discovered her husband was cheating on her and she caused a midair commotion.

The woman, who was travelling with her husband and young child, unlocked her sleeping hubby's phone by putting his finger on the home button and found evidence he was cheating on her.

The woman could not be calmed down by flight crew and the plane was forced to land in Chennai, where the family was kicked off.

And in June, a China Southern Airlines flight was stuck in Shanghai for five hours after an elderly woman threw coins into the engine for "good luck".

The 80-year-old stopped on the tarmac to make "blessings" as she was boarding her Guangzhou-bound flight and then threw nine coins into the engine turbine.

Her "good luck" ritual prompted concerned passengers to alert airline staff, who conducted a full examination of the engine and evacuated 150 passengers.