Mobile Phones should be turned off during plane travel due to network interference

Currently there is no government regulation that restricts the use of mobile phones on Australian airlines and no substantiated proof mobile phones can interfere with aircraft systems from within the passenger cabin. However, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) supports the Australian airline industry's view to play it safe and agrees that mobile phones should be turned off during plane travel.

Although incidents are regularly reported by aircrew, these anecdotal reports have not been confirmed as phone related.

The British Civil Aviation Authority has conducted tests which found simulated mobile phone transmissions interfered with some avionic equipment when placed within 30cm of the avionic equipment which are found on the flight deck. While these results are relevant to aircrew, they are not as relevant to commercial airline passengers.

Modern aircraft are designed to meet stringent international safety standards including requirements dictating comprehensive shielding of the planes wiring and electronic systems. These shielding requirements are specifically intended to prevent electromagnetic interference. In fact, aircraft routinely deal with large sources of electromagnetic energy such as from high power airport radar systems.

Although there is no clear evidence that mobile phones can interfere with aircraft systems from within the passenger cabin, they can cause network interference if used from an aircraft.

Potentially, several mobile phone cell sites could pick up the same signal from a mobile phone call made from an airplane flying at a high rate of speed over many sites. Multiply this effect by hundreds of phone calls being made from an aircraft in a holding pattern over Sydney airport, for example, and the network could become overloaded.

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has banned the use of mobile phones in aircraft while airborne. Similarly, much of the FCC concern involves the effect airborne mobile phone usage has on the network.

In Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has left the decision to ban mobiles, up to the discretion of the airlines. Banning mobile phones on flights is an internationally accepted practice endorsed by the International Air Transport Association. Personal radio transmitters have been banned by airlines on Australian civil aircraft for more than 30 years.

Airlines around the world are starting to allow the use of mobile phones while planes are taxing to and from the runway. For example, both American Airlines and Continental Airlines have made this change on all their flights with the US’s Federal Aviation Administration approval. In Australia, Qantas City Flyer services allow passengers to use cellular phones up to when to the plane’s door is closed.

Also, Qualcomm and American Airlines recently tested the use of mobile phones on a commercial aircraft, using a small base station within the plane connected to the terrestrial phone network by an air-to-ground satellite link. They expect American Airline passengers to be able to use standard mobile phones on their flights within two years.

However, passengers should always comply with the requirements of individual airlines relating to the use of personal electronic devices during plane travel.