“Airplane mode” is not only the title of a film by Fausto Brizzi, but it is above all a request that is made to all passengers who embark on a airplane during safety procedures. In fact, while the on -board crew explains all the maneuvers to be implemented in the event of an emergency, one of the main things that is requested is precisely to turn off your smartphone or, alternatively, to put it in the aforementioned mode. However, this procedure seemed to have the days counted. According to what is reported by Focusin fact, on November 24, 2022 the European Commission had given his own Green light to the use of cell phonesportable tablets and pc even during the flight. The airlines of the European Union countries were invited to assign the 5G frequency In the summer of 2023, their aircraft could be used your technological appliances during air crossings.
More than two years later, however, things have not changed. Although on long -range flights it is possible for some time parentheses to use the WiFi On board to communicate – using, for example, the WhatsApp application – the personal use of one’s phones remains prohibited. Although it was clarified that using the phone does not represent a real problem for the security of the flight systems – except to disturb the pilots with any interference in headphones – almost no company has agreed to follow the invitation of the European Commission. The reason? The main one is of an economic nature. Make the communication on board a plane possible through the so -called Picocell – cells that serve specifically for the connections of the phones – requires very high costs: it would be necessary to update and implement the infrastructures at prices that the aeronautical market – already strongly in crisis – could not afford.
In reality, then, according to what reports Britishthe basic operation of a phone could compromise communications with the control tower. To connect to the WiFi network, in fact, a smartphone uses low power radio waves, however becoming also receivers: the signal comes out to “attack” a cell or a telephone tower. But the phone also receives an incoming signal. If the device is located close enough to the cell, a large expenditure of energy is not required. Otherwise – as in the event of using a WiFi network on a flight plane – the required energy is much higher, to the point of being able to compromise the signal on the ground. It goes without saying that this eventuality could cause problems when communication should “congest”, making it difficult for pilots to be able to communicate with control towers or safety systems on the ground.
If on the one hand the companies do not want to spend money to update their aircraft and make available a service that could distract the pilots, on the other there is a much more basic motivation for security that could explain why you can’t still call on planes. The use of the phone, in fact, could represent a I disturb For other passengers, with the risk of creating tensions and quarrel situations, which are much more difficult to manage in a restricted and “particular” setting like that of an aerial cabin. Furthermore, the use of smartphones would also represent an element of distraction for passengers, who may not pay the right attention to on -board communications or crew and pilot messages.
It is also for this reason, in fact, that the request to put the electronic devices in aerial mode is always made before hostess and steward begin the safety demonstrations, precisely to prevent passengers from being concentrated on social media and not on what could save they life in case of emergencies.