Pilot reveals why phones are banned on planes – it’s not why you think

There are many rules passengers have to stick to while flying.

Most of them, like strapping yourself in for take off and landing, are quite obviously necessary measures to take.

But some regulations, such as turning off your phone throughout the journey, can be tricky to get your head around.

So why must you put your devices on airplane mode when in the air?

American airline pilot Patrick Smith recently spoke about the rule in an interview with Wales Online.

He revealed that the measures arent actually to do with safety – theyre more to maintain harmony in the cabin.

The expert said: “It's unlikely that a mobile phone can cause problems in the cockpit, particularly on modern aircraft where components are, by design, carefully shielded, but it's not impossible…

“The phone thing is more of a social issue rather than a technological one.

“That is, do you really want to be sitting on an airplane listening to 200 people chatting away simultaneously?

“Its possible that airlines are using the mere possibility of technical complications as a means of avoiding the social implications of allowing cellular conversations on planes.”

GETTY

TECH NOTE: Here's why phones are banned on most flights (Pic: GETTY)

Patricks explanation echoes one given by an anonymous pilot on Reddit.

In July, the airline worker revealed that its highly unlikely for phones to interfere with journeys.

They said: “The whole turn off the cell phone thing doesn't matter 99.99% of the time.

“However, it's that 0.01% of the time that we worry about. Most cell phones nowadays, like iPhones and Androids, dont operate on the same frequency as the equipment we are worried about.

“But its that one guy with the cell phone made in Mongolia in 1996 that is going to ruin it for everyone.”

The pilot added that it would be a waste of time to go through all phones, so its easier to put a blanket ban on them all.

He explained: “[We] could we spend more time going through everyone's electronics and saying You can use this, this, this, and this but not that unless we are over 14,500 feet.

“We could but A.) It would take forever and B.) You wouldn't remember it or get it right.

“So please, turn the damn thing off when we're landing the plane."

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