If you have ever been on a plane I am sure you have all heard the following set of instructions. "As we prepare for take-off please have your seats in an upright position, store your tray tables up, and put all electronic devices on airplane mode." While I never argue with the flight attendants and I just do as I am told, I always secretly wondered...why? Why is it necessary to turn devices onto airplane mode? Here is the real reason they want you to turn your phone on airplane mode while flying and what happens if you don't.
The Real Reason You Should Turn Your Phone On Airplane Mode While Flying
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I don't know about you, but the image in my head has always been pretty intense. Granted I am a worrier, but I also feared I would forget to turn my phone on airplane mode and then the aircraft would blow up or something. I can be dramatic...I know. However, without anyone ever explaining the severity of the issue it allows minds to wander.
Luckily, a pilot and U.S. Army veteran took to social media to explain. He started off by explaining that if you forget to turn your phone on airplane mode, it is not the end of the world. Turns out my fear of the plane blowing up are largely exaggerated. In the video he states, "No, your plane won't fall out of the sky, and it won't even mess with the systems on board. "
Huh...okay? So if it doesn't affect the plane or even the systems on board then why do we need to turn our phone on airplane mode while flying? Apparently because it can interfere with the pilot's headsets. He shared that even if just three or four people on a packed flight have their phone not on airplane mode it can interfere with radio waves and disrupt communication for pilot headsets.
Naturally, you don't want that because you want your pilots to be able to communicate with whoever they need to! While they will most likely still be able to hear one another, your phone searching for signal could create a buzzing interference with them, making it difficult to communicate and understand instructions. So while the world will not come to an end, I personally don't want to do anything that could even potentially disrupt the safety or effectiveness of my flight.
The Internet Reacts
@perchpoint
While some in the comment section argued that they never believed in this theory any way, many expressed thanks to the pilot for sharing the news. Additionally, many people argued that this information should be shared on the flight so that passengers are more aware of the effects of their choices. Here are some of the comments under the video.
"Yeah I refuse to believe any airplane mode garbage. If it truly presented ANY risk to the flight airlines would be collecting phones from passengers."
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"I think y'all should normalize getting on speaker and saying exactly this. "I can hear in my headset some of y'all do not have airplane mode on" it'll freak people out, they'll turn it on."
"Honestly thank you. I never understood this lol."
