When your plane is taking off, you know that your phone needs to be put on airplane mode.
However, it’s more than likely that you’ve wondered what the reasoning behind this decision is, because surely your phone wouldn’t work at 42,000 feet anyway?
One travel lover took to Reddit’s ‘ask’ forum, wondering what was at stake if they used their phone mid-air and whether it would have catastrophic effects.
And they finally discovered the real reason why your phone needs to be switched off on a plane.
They asked: “Why do they ask us not to use our phones during flights? I am just curious, what are the stakes here? Will it go boom?”
Someone responded: “No. There are two reasons for this:
Against popular thinking, the main reason is that it was feared that as the plane is taking off and landing, the phones would be connecting/disconnecting to multiple phone towers rapidly, which would cause issues with those towers. However, this isn’t really a problem in this day and age, especially. It was a precaution anyway.
It could mess with flight instrumentation, especially the radio. Ever had a speaker or radio open and when you get a call, you can hear sounds from the speaker? This does still happen, but is more rare nowadays as you need to receive GSM call really”.
Another added: “I think in today’s environment, making sure people aren’t distracted during the two most critical parts of flying, take off, and landing is a better reason to keep people off their phones”.
A Redditor responded: “And to have a better chance that people will listen to the safety briefing. Pay attention, people! It might just save your lives!”
“Honestly, that’s probably 100% the reason. Using your cell phone on a plane shouldn’t mess up any instruments. Doesn’t even make sense. We are surrounded and being bombarded and flying through all sorts of electronic signals. Plus they offer WiFi ON some planes,” someone shared.
Another shared: “It’s for peace and quiet and to control a herd of people. It’s the only place left on earth where you can disconnect and nobody cares. I hope it never changes”.
One man said: “I’ve read it largely has to do with potential interference with the pilot’s headset”.
When somebody responded saying it’s been tested and showed no interference, he replied: “That small sample size doesn’t dismiss the risk, nor does it take into account future headsets. I’d rather play it safer than sorry during the statistically most dangerous parts of flying”.
The real reason you are asked not to use your phone to make calls or send texts during a flight is primarily related to regulations and the potential for interference, rather than any immediate danger to the aircraft itself.
In the past, there was concern that signals from many phones could potentially interfere with the sensitive navigation and communication equipment on the plane, especially during takeoff and landing.
Modern aircraft are well-shielded, and the risk of interference is now considered very low. However, regulations have remained cautious.
Another reason is that at cruising altitude, your phone would try to connect to multiple cell towers on the ground, which can cause network problems for mobile providers and drain your phone’s battery quickly.
Additionally, airlines and regulatory authorities want to maintain a calm environment in the cabin, and allowing voice calls could be disruptive to other passengers. For these reasons, you are typically required to put your phone in airplane mode, which disables its cellular radio but still allows you to use Wi-Fi if the airline provides it.
So, it’s best to switch your phone off, or put it on airplane mode, every time you board a flight.