Chinese airlines bans pilot after she posted a picture from cockpit

After a photograph of a female passenger sitting in the cockpit along with food went viral, the pilot has been banned from flying on November 5. The incident took place on January 4, 2019, when the pilot posted a photo on social media captioned as 'thanks to the captain, so happy' with a 'V' sign on an Air Guilin flight GT1011 from Guilin city to Yangzhou city. However, it gained the attention of the authorities only on November 3 when the screenshot of the girl's post was shared widely by the users on the micro-blogging site, Weibo.

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Pilot violated the law

The Guilin Airlines reportedly said in a statement that the pilot in duty had violated the laws and regulations by allowing irrelevant personnel into the cockpit as according to the guidelines by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, passengers are prohibited in the cockpit area with special approval or under 'necessary' circumstances. Along with the pilot, other officials in the duty during the flight have also been 'suspended indefinitely' with additional investigations being underway. Last year, another Chinese airline, Donghai had suspended a pilot for six months and also took away his qualifications as a flight instructor after he allowed his wife inside the plane's cockpit. 

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Zero-tolerance approach

Air Guilin reportedly said that the company takes a 'zero-tolerance approach' when it comes to inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour which might cause any harm to the aviation safety of both, the passengers as well as the crew. Even though the airlines did not specify if the image of the female was clicked mid-flight, however, other Chineses pilots and analysts say that it was, however, during the flight when the picture was taken. Recently, a lawsuit was also filed against Southwest Airlines by a flight attendant who alleges that pilots on the flight had iPad streaming video from a hidden camera in the bathroom in the airline's jets. 

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(With inputs from agencies)