If you have ever wondered why you’re told to turn your phone off, or have it switched to flight mode while on a plane, there’s a crucial reason.
Angus Kidman, travel expert at Finder, explained that historically, the key reason for switching off phones is so they don’t swamp the available airwaves.
And while some experts have since claimed mobile phone signals no longer interfere with signals on planes, Mr Kidman says it “still exists”.
“As your plane ascends, every mobile tower you might connect to gets further away and as a result, your phone tries even harder to get a connection,” Mr Kidman told news.com.au.
“Multiply that across hundreds of passengers and there’s a chance that essential on-board radio communications won’t work.”
He explained that different areas of spectrum are reserved for different purposes to minimise this risk, “but it still exists”.
“There are other issues too: if loads of people are connected to a tower while in flight, that could affect service on the ground. And there’s a big social challenge in managing hundreds of people on board all trying to make calls while flight attendants are trying to serve meals.”
According to Doug Drury, the Head of Aviation at CQ University Australia, ground interference is an issue.
“Wireless networks are connected by a series of towers; the networks could become overloaded if passengers flying over these ground networks are all using their phones,” he said in The Conversation.
He explained a lot of work went into both testing the safety of mobile phones on planes and separating their frequency to air traffic control – but current 5G wireless networks – desirable for their higher speed data transfer, “have caused concern for many within the aviation industry”.
“Personal electronic devices can emit a signal within the same frequency band as the aircraft’s communications and navigation systems, creating what is known as electromagnetic interference," he told The Conversation.
“But in 1992, the US Federal Aviation Authority and Boeing, in an independent study, found no issues with computers or other personal electronic devices during non-critical phases of flight.
“The US Federal Communications Commission also began to create reserved frequency bandwidths for mobile phones and aircraft navigation and communications – so they do not interfere with one another.”
However, thanks to the rise in 5G, question marks have been raised about the safety of mobile phones on flights once again.
According to Professor Drury, it’s because the 5G bandwidth is much closer to that used by the aviation industry.
“Current 5G wireless networks – desirable for their higher speed data transfer – have caused concern for many within the aviation industry.
“Radio frequency bandwidth is limited, yet we are still trying to add more new devices to it.
“The aviation industry points out that the 5G wireless network bandwidth spectrum is remarkably close to the reserved aviation bandwidth spectrum, which may cause interference with navigation systems near airports that assist with landing the aircraft.
“Airport operators in Australia and the US have voiced aviation safety concerns linked to 5G rollout, however it appears to have rolled out without such problems in the European Union.
“Either way, it is prudent to limit mobile phone use on planes while issues around 5G are sorted out.”
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Another reason passengers are told to not use their phones is due to the danger with some batteries.
In July, budget airline Ryanair began to warn passengers about fires caused by batteries and considered it so serious it included it in the safety briefing before takeoff.
The information has also been added to the airline’s pre-flight safety message, alongside what to do in case of emergency.
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