I'm A Pilot ― Here's Why We Really Ask You To Put Your Phone On Aeroplane Mode

Every so often, you learn something that makes you question all your life decisions. 

For me, that was finding out that you don’t actually have to wait for your food to cool down before placing leftovers in the fridge ― most modern fridges are smart enough to handle the added warmth. 

And now, it seems that my previous attitude to aeroplane mode (basically, I thought it was a fake rule that didn’t apply anymore) was also off-base. 

In a recent TikTok, a pilot who goes by the username @perchpoint said; “this is just a friendly reminder PSA that the aeroplane button on your phone is not a conspiracy.”

So what does it do?

“If you forget to put your phone on aeroplane mode, no, it’s not the end of the world ― the plane will not fall out of the sky,” the pro informed us (phew). 

It won’t mess up any of the on-board systems that help pilots to navigate either. 

But the pilot added, “it does have the potential to mess with the headsets” ― I wonder if that’s similar to how my ’00s stereo would buzz when I was getting a call.

If “even three or four peoples’ phones start to try to make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves,” the TikTok user shared. 

And there’s a chance those radio waves could mess with the headset information pilots are getting because they’re using the same channels to communicate. 

He says the phone calls can create a “really annoying buzz” going through the headset that he’s experienced himself on a recent flight. 

“It kind of sounds like there’s a mosquito in my ear.” 

Is it just phones?

Skyscanner’s travel expert, Laura Lindsay, told Conde Nast Traveller the list doesn’t end there. 

“While most mobile phones don’t emit strong radio waves, devices including Kindles, iPods, laptops and even handheld gaming consoles all also give off radio waves, especially in a compact space,” she told the publication.

If there’s one person I don’t want to drive distracted, it’s the pilot ― so I guess I can abandon that gripping Kindle read while I’m on board.