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NEWARK, N.J. >> The agency that operates the New York City area’s three major airports has a message for passengers who don’t turn off their cellphones or tablets before takeoff: Pay up, or see you in court.
The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says it’s considering levying fines up to tens of thousands of dollars for behavior that causes flight delays.
Pat Foye says he hopes the initiative will persuade fliers to change their behavior. He says police answered about 400 calls last year at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports to deal with unruly passengers.
The issue received national publicity in December when Alec Baldwin was kicked off a New York-bound flight in Los Angeles for refusing to turn off his cellphone. Baldwin later apologized to fellow passengers who were delayed.
