It’s the final moments gearing up for takeoff, when you notice your seatmate is replying to text messages on their cell phone—which they clearly haven’t put into airplane mode yet. Cue the spike of fear. Are they really just breaking the rules? And most importantly: Is this inconsiderate person going to mess with the plane signals and kill us all?
It can be scary to witness a passenger disregard the airplane-mode announcement on a flight, because air travel is all about guidelines and safety. But these days, when just about every person has a smartphone in their pocket and many are expected to answer work emails at all hours, it’s tempting to push the limits on airplane mode. What actually happens if someone forgets to (or worse, actively chooses not to) flip that little switch? The fact is, most travelers don’t really know. So, we asked airline staffers about the basis of the safety step, and whether they can actually tell when a passenger is flouting the rules.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
Why is airplane mode required?
You may recall a time when airlines required passengers to switch their phones off entirely, and it wasn’t some long-ago era, but 2012. In 2013—after conferring with pilots, passengers, aviation manufacturers, and mobile tech representatives—the Federal Aviation Administration officially decreed that passengers could keep their phones on during flights, as long as they were set to airplane mode.
“The industry has had several reports over the years linking mobile phone use with system malfunctions, and whilst systems have improved, the industry regulators take a cautious view because of the safety implications,” a spokesperson from the Flight Tech team of an international airline said in a statement. “Mobile phone signals can interfere with aircraft navigational and landing guidance systems.”
The relationship between phone signals and navigational systems is not an exact science, which is why everyone we spoke to was careful in their language. “It’s rare, but it does still happen that there is interference with certain types of cell phones or a combination of many cell phones still turned on,” says Bobby Laurie, host of TV show The Jet Set, former flight attendant, and Condé Nast Traveler contributor. “The best way that a pilot explained it to me was, if you’ve ever left your cell phone next to a speaker—just before it rang, you would hear that clicking noise from the speaker,” Laurie explains. “That’s kind of what they hear in their headsets and in-flight deck speaker system when they’re communicating.” And when you’re flying a plane, the last thing you want are any extra noises while communicating—and concentrating.
Better to be safe than sorry, says the industry. “Practically, there is no effect on the aircraft, but without the [safety] certification, the use of 3G/4G band cannot be allowed,” says Matti Keskinarkaus, the deputy fleet chief pilot at Finnair.
Do some countries allow passengers to use their phone without airplane mode?
Yes. Both the UK and the EU have recently allowed airlines in its member countries to begin providing 5G to passengers in the air, making airplane mode a thing of the past. Officials in the UK and EU were given a deadline of June 30, 2023, to make 5G frequency bands available for airlines.
