Books, downloaded podcasts and films, or even just taking a nap; people choose a variety of things to keep themselves entertained on a plane after switching their phone to airplane mode.
Many follow the rule happily, accepting it as a reasonable safety precaution for when they’re thousands of feet above the ground.
However one inquisitive passenger wanted to know the reasoning behind it.
On Reddit, they asked: ‘Why do they ask us to not use our phones during flights?
‘I am just curious, what are the stakes here? Will it go boom?’
Many replied offering their thoughts on why the precaution is needed.
One person revealed ‘there are two reasons for this’ and went on to explain the possible issues phones could cause.
The biggest reason, according to the Reddit user, was concerns over mobiles connecting to towers and creating problems.
‘Against popular thinking, the main reason is because it was feared that as the plane is taking off and landing, the phones would be connecting / disconnecting to multiple phone towers rapidly, which would cause issues with those towers,’ they penned.
‘However, this isn’t really a problem in this day and age especially. It was a precaution anyways.’
They went on to provide further grounds for why turning mobiles off on flights is necessary.
‘It could mess with flight instrumentation, especially the radio,’ the Reddit user wrote.
‘Ever had a speaker or radio open and when you get a call, you can hear sounds from the speaker?
‘This does still happen, but is more rare nowadays as you need to receive GSM call really.’
Another person shared their thoughts on the comment, revealing they felt it was so plane passengers pay attention during emergencies.
‘Always good to get people to not be distracted and have their hands free during takeoff and landing in case something does go wrong,’ they said.
Another interjected, explaining the phone setting helped to save battery power too.
They said: ‘Regardless, you should still turn your phone on airplane mode.
‘If you don’t, it’ll drain your battery really fast because your phone will continuously try to ping towers to get a signal, but there are none.’
It comes after Virgin Atlantic announced it would be the first UK airline to offer free ‘streaming-quality’ WiFi across its fleet.
