Why turn off your phone on an airplane

“New stylish phone, we need it everywhere.

Everyone needs it like water: to call back and forth.

To chat about this, about this, or so, to be alone. "

A mobile phone is the first necessity these days. Without it, we don’t leave the house, we don’t make a trip, we don’t get on a train or an airplane. “Please turn off your cell phones and do not turn them on until the plane has fully landed” - these are the words every traveler hears, sitting in an upholstered seat of the airliner and getting ready to take off.

But why can't you use your phone on the plane? Does this threaten the flight's well-being? Or is it something else? Let's figure it out.

Expertise says

The airliner is distinguished by the complexity and precision of the electronic systems. For decades, it was believed that working mobile phones create interference signals that negatively affect the operation of the autopilot. They spoil the readings of aeronautical equipment and prevent ground services from monitoring the flight and establishing communication on the aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration has commissioned a study of the possible harm from the operation of the telephones of the Radio Technical and Aircraft Commission (RTCA). For seven years the specialists of the center have been studying the problem. Hundreds of thousands of flights were involved in the check.

Laboratory research. All electronics generate radio frequency radiation. To determine the strength of a cell phone's radio waves, the researchers used a special spectrum analyzer and an insulated brass wire container (Faraday cage).

Inside the cage, the experimenters put things that travelers take on board the plane: an MP3 player, a game console and a CD player. Their radio emission turned out to be minimal. But when the cell was placed in the cage, the analyzer diagnosed the strongest jump. Is the mobile phone really causing the liner systems to malfunction?

This was the first preliminary analysis. With the support of aerospace aviation engineer D. Gutau, the specialists simulated an accurate model of the radio communication of the airport ground services with the airliner. Armed with a cellular generator, the researchers attempted to disrupt communications and create dangerous interference.

The radio generator creates radio waves of varying strength. Thanks to the device, it is possible to find out at what frequency it works and how strong the radio signal must have in order to disrupt the operation of the aircraft systems.

Initially, the tests were carried out on a frequency of GSM 1800 (a common frequency of a cell phone). But the device did not catch the slightest distortion. All aircraft equipment was functioning properly. But, when the mobile phone was reconfigured to a frequency wave of 800-900 MHz, the analyzer showed a significant deviation in the operation of the aircraft navigation analyzer.

The conclusion of the experts was as follows: a mobile phone (and other devices) operating in a frequency of 800-900 MHz interfere with the operation of aircraft equipment and affect the functioning of aircraft orientation systems.

This is the preliminary result. It's time to check the data of laboratory tests in the field, in practice.

Airplane tests. The prospectors moved to the take-off site, where they activated the analyzer in the operating liner. For 12 hours they "bombarded" the air with radio frequency signals (they used both modern smartphones and old PCS models).

Most of them supported 800-900 MHz frequencies. But no interference, violations in the functioning of the liner equipment were identified. Not a single mobile phone interfered with the work of the aircraft systems.

The wires running through the passenger compartment are shielded (protected from extraneous influences). Therefore, no signal from a mobile or other device can disrupt the aircraft's operating system.

So it's safe to talk on the phone while traveling by air? But why, even after confirmed, official testing, do flight attendants insist on turning off electronic devices during flight?

Why is it forbidden to use a mobile phone?

In fact, you can use your cell phone. But not on all planes. Some airlines allow, others ask to turn off the phone during the flight. How to justify such a ban?

"Easier to ban"

Why turn off your phone? Airline owners are wary. Indeed, today new models of gadgets are published every day, protocols and standards are changing. And the aviation equipment is not standing still.

There is a theoretical possibility that a modern mobile phone will be able to negatively respond to the operation of navigation systems, create dangerous interference and provoke a liner crash.

Constant new research is not economically viable. It is easier to prohibit than to take moral responsibility for a possible catastrophe caused by a working mobile phone.

In addition, airlines fear that passengers will learn during the flight about any negative incidents on the ground (aircraft accidents, terrorist attacks, personal tragedies). This kind of news can be stressful. And a person who is under the influence of factors destroying the psyche becomes dangerous to others.

Comfort for everyone

I would like to sit in a soft comfortable chair of the liner and forget about the problems, admire the magical views of the clouds behind the window. Savor a delicious lunch brought by a beautiful flight attendant and relax. But a restless neighbor sits down next to him, chatting on the phone all the time. Or an agitated madam loudly discussing the news with a friend.

Airlines are not interested in complaints from passengers and their requirements to ensure silence in flight. And they hardly want unnecessary conflict situations on board during the flight.

The lounges can be divided into those who like to chat on the phone and those who want to fly in silence, where the phone cannot be switched on (like in a cafe with existing smoking areas). It is not difficult to organize such a division, but why are extra efforts necessary for the sake of 2-3 hours of flight? It is easier and cheaper to prohibit telephone conversations.

Conversations are distracting

The most dangerous moments in flight are takeoff and landing. Yes, and everything happens in the sky. At critical times, the most important thing for passenger safety is to comply with the flight attendants' requirements. In dangerous situations, the main thing is the well-functioning, organized and joint actions of passengers and crew members.

Imagine a situation where an unusual situation occurs on board. The pilot demands the attention of all passengers. And a good half of them chat on the phone or play an online game. It will take 1-2 minutes to turn off the phones, get out of the network. And in critical situations, seconds are important.

Sometimes seconds save lives. The specificity of the location of the seats in the air liner is such that just one passenger who hesitated for a couple of seconds causes the collapse of the entire row, blocking their movement.

And when dropped into an air hole, turbulence or an emergency landing, dropped tablets, mobile phones become traumatic objects.

Have you noticed that the lights are turned off during takeoff and landing in the cabin of the Airbus? This is not done so that passengers can admire the glow of the lights behind the window. In the cabin, the lighting is dimmed so that the crew and passengers get used to the dark and in case of an unusual situation they can better orient themselves in the cabin.

And the traveler, having his eyes squeezed into a bright screen, in a dangerous situation where you need to move freely around the cabin, will turn into a “blind mole” and will interfere with other people.

Economic factor

But if you need to urgently contact the land, talk to your family, you will be allowed to make phone calls. True, not by their own mobile phone, but by offering to use their own paid mobile communications. Airlines want to earn extra money by making a profit from expensive calls?

Proponents of this theory are sure that airlines prohibit calls on personal mobile phones solely for selfish purposes. Extra profit is lost! This opinion is not without foundation. After all, any company or organization is interested in receiving dividends by installing access points in the salons.

Everyone in business is looking for sources of additional income. So why not take advantage of this opportunity?

So what happens if you make a call in the salon? Will they be fined, taken away from your mobile phone, dropped off the flight? How do different airlines really feel about using the phone on board their flights?

Aircraft rules of different countries

In 2013, the agency responsible for the safety of flights in America and Europe formally allowed the use of mobile phones on airplanes. Mobile phones received an amnesty. But the decisive word remained with the leadership of the airlines. They have the right to dictate the rules.

Most airlines preferred the "golden mean", allowing limited use of telephones. Passengers cannot use their mobile phones only during takeoff and landing. It is allowed to make calls during the flight, but when the cell phone is switched to the "in flight" mode.

This mode automatically turns off the wireless modules during landing / takeoff, and in flight turns on the Wi-fi mode and allows the owner to use all the functionality of the gadget.

Europe. Since 2014, European airlines have allowed the use of digital devices (tablets, phones, cameras) throughout the entire flight in any mode. But Austrian airlines decided to play it safe and left a ban on mobile calls during the entire flight.

Passengers were only allowed to use tablet devices and laptops (except for takeoff / landing). As representatives of Austrian airlines explained the ban, telephone service makes sense over long distances. And even a businessman in a hurry can withstand 2-3 hours of flight without calls.

Baltic Airlines also joined them. Airbaltic completely prohibits its travelers from using mobile phones. The ban applies to tablets and PDAs during landing and takeoff.

The first European carrier to allow mobile communication on board the airliner was the representatives of the Arab airline Emirates. Arab aircraft are equipped with a special device that completely eliminates the influence of extraneous signals on navigation systems. The salons are equipped with a miniature station ("Pico-Sota"), which provides satellite communications with land-based mobile operators.

USA. The main certificate, which spelled out the regulations for the use of electronic devices by travelers in flight: document-circular 92.21-1A, issued in the fall of 2000. Most of the American air carriers comply with these instructions. They sound like this:

During the flight, it is allowed to leave the following devices on in liners:

• Clock with digital indication.
• Devices for the hearing impaired.
• Surgical implants (cardio and nerve stimulators).

Devices that are allowed to be used before take-off and upon landing:

• Computers of any type.
• Pagers, mobile phones and other means with the ability to send electronic texts.

During a flight at a given altitude (cruising flight), you can use:

• GPS receivers.
• DVD, CD-players.
• Digital cameras.
• Personal computers.
• Devices that allow sending E-mail messages.
• Mobile phones switched to airplane mode in the phone "game".

Russia. There are no such regulations in Russia. And the ban on the use of mobile phones in our country remains in force (but flight attendants do not strictly adhere to this rule and do not always force them to comply with it).

The head of the analytical company "Flight Safety in the Sky" Valery Shelkovnikov explains the ban on the use of mobile phones by the fact that no research has been carried out on this issue in Russia, unlike Western partners. Therefore, the ban remains in force and mobile phones must be switched off on airplanes.

Requirements regarding the rules for using cellular communications on board flights vary. Airline websites will help you to accurately punch the ground to prepare for the flight. And do not forget to listen carefully to the flight attendant while sitting in the comfortable seat of the liner. Before the flight, she will give all the necessary instructions and tell the rules of conduct for the passenger on board the flight and indicate whether it is possible to use the telephone.