Why do we still have to use airplane mode? -

The holiday season is here, and for many of us, that means traveling across the country to see family or – if we’re lucky – across the world to escape the winter. Either way, boarding a plane in the United States means welcoming familiar instructions to turn portable electronic devices into airplane mode or turn them off entirely.

The reason behind this long-standing policy was that cell phones could interfere with aircraft systems. But the European Union lifted its long-standing ban on cell phone use on planes in 2022, so why do Americans still have to use Airplane mode?

The FAA’s official line remains that cell phone signals can interfere with aircraft communications and navigation equipment, says Richard Levy, an aviation consultant who worked for decades as a US Airways pilot and is now an instructor at Southwest Airlines. (The FAA, for its part, simply pointed this out Popular Science to Systems Which requires passengers to follow the safety instructions of all crew members, and they did not comment further.)

Obviously the word “could” is doing a lot of work in that sentence; What is the actual risk? In modern aircraft, at least, the risk of interference with navigation equipment is minimal, Levy says. “On the latest Boeing and Airbus planes, there is navigation equipment,” he explains [relies] On GPS, as in cars. I won’t say the odds [of cell phones interfering with that system] “It’s zero, but it’s close to zero.”

Regarding communications equipment, it is useful to look at the FAA’s guidance on this issue, which is contained in Advisory Circular 91.21-1D On the topic “Use of portable electronic devices on board aircraft”. This document provides some insight into the FAA’s thinking on the issue—particularly the “History” section, which explains that the ban “was established in May 1961 to prohibit the operation of frequency modulation (FM) receivers because they were intended to interfere with frequency modulation (FM) receivers.” (FM)”. Operating navigation and communications systems in aircraft.

This, at least, makes perfect sense, because aircraft communications frequencies and FM radio broadcasts use a very similar portion of the VHF region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In most parts of the world (Including the United States of America), FM radio uses frequencies between 87.5 MHz and 108 MHz, while aircraft communications frequencies It starts at around 120MHz. It is entirely possible, then, that someone trying to listen to a transistor radio in the cabin could cause problems.

However, cell phones use much higher frequencies than FM radio. The lowest frequency cellular band is up to 698MHzand modern 4G and 5G Networks mostly use frequencies in the gigahertz range. It seems very unlikely, then, that cell phones or air communications could cause problems. The FAA itself has already conducted two studies – one in 2006 And one in 2012— which found no evidence that cell phone signals were interfering with aircraft systems.

However, there are accounts of phones interfering with communications devices. Earlier this year, Pilot Described on TikTok And how he experienced interference in wired headphones, which he said felt like a “mosquito” in his ear. “If you have a plane with 70, 80, 150 people on board, and even three or four people’s phones start trying to connect to a radio tower to make an incoming phone call, they’re sending out radio waves,” he said. “There’s a possibility that those radio waves could interfere with private radio waves.” With headphones used by pilots.

What does Levi do with this? “Prove it to me,” he says. [the pilot] He knew it was a cell phone [causing the interference]. It can be all kinds of things that cause static electricity. “I’m very skeptical.”

Why is the United States hesitant to lift the embargo? Many commentators have theorized about the “real” reasons for US authorities’ intransigence on this issue, reasons that have less to do with science and more to do with pragmatism: GizmodoFor example, Supposedly earlier this year The ongoing ban on cell phone use is “all about air rage.” (This idea is supported by a 2012 FAA study, which invited public comment on the issue — 79 of the 148 comments received opposed lifting the ban, and “the predominant concern expressed by these comments was that voice conversations Passengers using their mobile phones “may cause inconvenience and distraction to other passengers.”)

Does Levy give any credence to such ideas? “I do,” he says. “You and I were in the grocery store, and someone was talking very loudly. She doesn’t mean harm, but talk quietly, or go to your car, or go to the park. On a plane, of course, there is no such escape, and the idea of staying Hours in the middle seat between two people talking out loud about their budding ideas feels like a whole new circle of hell.

Levy also points out that authorities could see inattention as a problem: “The other reason they don’t want people using cell phones on the ground is because [they] I want passengers to pay attention to the flight safety briefing.” It is worth noting that he has less time for this argument: “Europeans also have safety briefings, and people are paying attention.” [to those]”.

So what are the chances of the ban being lifted? Passengers shouldn’t hold their breath, Levy says. Cell phone bans are not left to the discretion of airlines; It was dedicated in two separate titles to Code of Federal Regulations (especially Address 14which covers aviation, space, and Address 47which covers telecommunications.) The former was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the latter by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which means that two federal agencies will have to decide to change their positions on the issue.

The FAA and FCC are not the only powerful organizations opposed to any policy change; Levy points out that unions may also be happy for things to remain as they are. In the commercial aviation industry, he says, “unions [still] They have a lot of power. I don’t know if airline employee unions are petitioning the FAA [retain the ban”, but if so, they have a lot of lobbying power.”

However, he says, ultimately the issue is that “the US is very conservative in this way. My guess is that they’re waiting for data somehow to prove [definitively] There is no risk.

This story is part of Popular Science magazine Ask us anything serieswhere we answer your weirdest and most provocative questions, from the mundane to the off-beat. Do you have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.