You little anarchist. They told you to switch to airplane mode, and you just \u2026 didn\u2019t. Maybe you were sending one last Slack<\/a>; maybe you decided not to take PTO and you\u2019re in the middle of a Zoom call<\/a>; or maybe you just don\u2019t like being told what to do. Either way, you\u2019re not alone. A 2017 Allianz Travel Insurance survey<\/a> of over 1,500 Americans found that 40 percent admitted to sometimes skipping airplane mode. Nearly 14 percent said they had sneaked in a mid-flight call or SMS.<\/p>\n But does it even matter? If cell phones were such a threat to aviation, wouldn\u2019t the Transportation Security Administration<\/a> confiscate your smartphone<\/a> instead of that water bottle<\/a> you forgot in your backpack<\/a>? After all, there are no documented catastrophic incidents directly caused by someone\u2019s FaceTime. Is airplane mode just another outdated travel ritual from the flip-phone era<\/a>, like applauding the landing? (Maybe we should revive that one<\/a> \u2026)<\/p>\n Power up with unlimited access to<\/em> WIRED<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong> Get best-in-class reporting that’s too important to ignore for just Your phone, when left to its own devices, is a needy little thing. It constantly pings cell towers, searching for a connection. On the ground, that’s no biggie. In the air, those pings can interfere with cockpit radios, creating an incessant buzzing sound in pilots\u2019 headsets\u2014like a mosquito in your ear. It’s just a little annoying, not a problem, except that you’re annoying the person who is trying to, I don\u2019t know, land the plane<\/em>.<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n According to the Federal Aviation Administration<\/a>, airborne cell phone use is banned because it can mess with the radio altimeter, which helps pilots gauge altitude. This is especially important during takeoff and landing. A single phone won\u2019t disrupt much, but a cabin full of them is a recipe for noise pollution and irritated pilots. The concern is bigger in the US<\/a>, where 5G operates on frequencies close to those used by radio altimeters. In the UK and EU, some airlines allow 5G to use mid-flight, because their networks operate differently.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a basic awareness factor. Emergencies happen most often during takeoff and landing. If there\u2019s an issue, flight crews can\u2019t afford to fight for your attention over whatever FaceTime you\u2019re on.<\/p>\n$2.50<\/del> $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\nThe Deep, Dark Truth<\/h2>\n
TikTok content<\/h4>\n
Will They Stop You?<\/h2>\n