Pilot explains why airplane mode on phones is so important
A seasoned pilot has explained the real reason why your phone needs to be on airplane mode for the duration of your next flight.
The pilot broke down the precaution in a video he posted to TikTok, with the explanation racking up over 2 million views.
“The plane mode button on your phone is not a conspiracy,” declared the pilot, before reassuring passengers that using your phone onboard won't cause the plane to “fall out of the sky” or even really “mess with the systems on board”.
However, if too many flyers choose to use their phones all at once, it can inadvertently mess with the pilots’ radio communications with the control tower.
“If you have an aircraft with 70, 80, 150 people on board, and even three or four people’s phones start to try to make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves,” the captain explained.
“There’s the potential that those radio waves can interfere with the radio waves of the headset that the pilots are using.”
He recalled a recent flight where he was using his headset to get “clearance on which way to go” and the message interference made it feel like there was a “mosquito” in his ear.
“It’s definitely not the end of the world but it’s pretty annoying when you’re trying to copy down instructions and it sounds like there’s a wasp or something flying around,” the pilot declared.
“So if you’re ever curious why you’ve got to put on plane mode, that’s why.”
Image credits: Shutterstock