What happens when you don’t put your phone into flight mode

Publish Date
Wednesday, 18 January 2017, 3:39PM
Photo: Getty Images

Photo: Getty Images

OK so this whole time we've thought that we're asked to turn our phones onto flight mode because the plane could malfunction otherwise, but that's actually not the reason! The real reason is because it might annoy other passengers, and alternatively might effect the pilots radio!

The Daily Mail reported that most commercial flights don't let passengers use their phones in-flight because of concerns over safety and the comfort.

The publication said, "The ban was originally brought in over fears the radio frequency emitted by mobiles belonging to passengers or crew could malfunction a plane’s electronic systems.

"This is not a problem with new phones and on-board systems such as picocells, which aren’t widely used. But, on most flights, the ban remains in place."

However, rules do vary airline to airline, with some allowing passengers to make voice calls and texts in-flight.

A blog post for AirlineUpdates, has made us aware of the other reason why you're encourage to turn flight mode on, and it's phones that aren't in flight mode may cause audible interference on the plane's radio.

The blog post wrote, “You’ve probably heard this interference yourself when a phone is set near a speaker. It sounds like a “dit-dit-dit-dit” tone and it’s pretty annoying.”

However they did add that it is a rare occurrence rarely due to modern technology reducing the interference caused by phones.

Buzzy stuff! 

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