The next time you feel like rolling your eyes and causing a stink when a member of the cabin crew asks you politely to put your electronic devices on aeroplane mode, you might want to think again.
They’re not just being awkward jobsworths, they’re trying to keep you and everyone else on board safe!
A pilot has explained to Tyla the real reason why you should always place your electronic devices on aeroplane mode when flying high in the friendly sky, and it’s not what you might think.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) rules and regulations state that anyone boarding a plane with an electronic device with a cellular connection must ensure the connection is disabled or they are placed in aeroplane mode before the aircraft takes off.
The FAA claims this ruling is in place to prevent the devices from interfering with “critical aircraft instruments.” However, holiday agency Booking.com has a different take on why you should always put your electronic devices safely out of reach and mind when in the air.
They stress that phone use in the air can cause the networks on the ground to become “overloaded.”
A spokesperson for the holiday agency explained, “How much phones affect aviation technology hasn’t been studied in-depth, but pilots say they can hear background noise and interference from phones while flying, especially when they’re landing, and mobile phones begin to make contact with towers again.”
Yet the million-dollar question remains. Just how dangerous is it to use your phone when you’re eight miles high?
TikTok creator @Perchpoint doesn’t just make catchy content, they are something of an authority on all things aviation. They explained that although not putting your phone on aeroplane mode will not cause the sky to fall, the mountains to crumble, or the Earth to open up and swallow us all whole, it’s a pretty lame idea.
“If you forget to put your phone on aeroplane mode, no, it’s not the end of the world, the plane will not fall out of the sky, and it won’t even mess with the systems on board,” explained the TikTocker.
But! And it’s a big but! It still carries a significant safety risk.
“It does have the potential to mess with the headsets,” the social media star claimed.
“If you have an aircraft with 70, 80, or 150 people on board and even three or four people’s phones start to try and make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves.
“There’s a potential that those radio waves can interfere with the headsets that the pilots are using.”
Pilots who have actually experienced the effect of mobile phone interference have likened it to a mosquito buzzing around their heads.
The TikTok plane enthusiast added, “It’s not the end of the world, but it’s pretty annoying when you’re trying to copy down instructions and it sounds like a wasp or something flying around you.
“So if you’re ever curious why you need to put on aeroplane mode, that’s why.”
And in case you think it’s just a case of another TikTocker talking utter nonsense, you’d be wrong.
His claims have been backed up by historian and former airline pilot Dan Bubb.
The professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, explained that although phones can not cause the plane to crash, they can mess big time with the headsets of the pilots.
This is crucial because in many aircraft, the pilot cannot see the runway beneath them when they land, and so they rely solely on what in the trade is called the radio altimeter.
What the heck is that, you might ask? Well, it’s a little voice in the pilot’s headset that tells him what the altitude level is as the plane approaches the runway. Get that wrong and you’re in big trouble.
So next time you’re on a plane, do the world and yourself a big favour and switch to Airplane mode for Heaven’s sake!
