Putting the phone on airplane “flight” mode as you are boarding a plane is not a new thing. The moment you are on board you will always hear “Please set your portable electronic devices, including any mobile phones, to flight mode.” Almost all the passengers obey this order even when they don’t know the reason behind it.
Lots of passengers have been asking why they must put their phone on airplane “flight” mode when boarding a flight. Does it mean if they don’t put their phone on airplane mode, the plane cannot move because the pilot cannot be able to contact the control tower or does it mean if someone doesn’t put his/her phone on airplane mode, the plane will crash mid-flight.
In a quest to find out the reason why you must put your phone on airplane “flight” mode when flying, Sagetravels your travel partner decided to consult different sources.
From our findings, we found out that there are two major reasons why passengers phone must be on airplane “flight” mode when flying.
Interference
The real reason why passengers are asked to put they electronic devices, including any mobile phones, to flight mode is because of the US Federal Communication Commission Ban. The Ban was in order to “protect against radio interference to cell phone networks on the ground.” Meaning even on board, active cell phones would be picking up service from multiple cell towers on the ground.
According to a pilot, that respondent to our question on Quora said, that the noise on the radio possibly annoys some pilots and air traffic controllers. So, when passengers devices are not in flight mode it causes noise pollution.
What this simply means in a layman understand is for example, when your mobile phone is close to your radio, you will hear a nasty noise. The same way the noise annoys you is the same way the noise is not good for pilots and air controllers.
Distractions
Distraction is another reason why passengers gadgetry must be on flight mode when flying. Mobile phones have a way of taking someone’s attention. Headphones, mobile game etc. may prevent you from hearing an announcement in case of emergency. Take the Arik flight that landed at Ibadan instead of Kwara for example. It could be that the cabin crew announced the landing and the passenger weren’t listening. Something the cabin crew may not be able to repeat what they have said.
Some airlines installed phone receivers and Wi-Fi on their flights. This is to enable passengers’ text, make a call and also browse when flying. However, making calls over in-flight Wi-Fi is not allowed.
Photos Credit: Pixabay, Business Insider
