Airlines cleared for mobile phone use during flights

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Airlines cleared for mobile phone use during flights

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA^» (European Aviation Safety Agency - about)) says electronic devices such as mobile phones can be left switched on during flights.

EASA says that electronic devices do not pose a safety risk.

The announcement clears the way for airlines to permit the use of mobile phones, once they have conducted their own safety reviews.

Currently airline passengers have to switch devices to flight mode and make calls from the airport terminal.

The EASA sets the framework for airlines making safety decisions.

The agency said each airline would still have to go through an assessment process, ensuring aircraft systems are not affected by the signals from portable electronic devices before establishing their own rules for their operation.

As a result there could be a delay in implementing the new rules at some airlines.

It also says that airlines may opt for different policies on the use of mobile devices.

Analysis: Richard Westcott, Transport Correspondent

This move strips away the last regulatory hurdle stopping airline passengers in Europe from making phone calls or using wi-fi on any flight, even while taxiing.

But that doesn't mean you'll have to endure the bloke next to you babbling on about his work for an hour during your next flight.

First of all, you can't get a signal at 33,000 feet. Not yet anyway.

Secondly, the airlines will need to pay to kit out their planes so that phones and wi-fi work. And thirdly, there's the passengers.

British Airways, for example, already has a business-class-only flight from London to New York that lets passengers use wi-fi and send texts.

But they block voice-calls, because whenever they survey passengers, most baulk at the idea of everyone around them talking on the phone during a flight.

Airliners remain one of the last places work can't get hold of you on the phone.

[stuving]

That's somewhat misleading.

 The radio regulations for on-board base stations were passed years ago - 2007, I think. That dealt with the safety of that unit and the phones using it, including preventing them connecting to base stations on the ground. That would cause serious problems to the way cellphone systems track phones between cells, but of course it would also avoid the charges for on-board use.

However, that was only a minor step. The big issue - whether an aircraft might be adversely affected - was a matter for airworthiness certification, now dealt with by EASA^» (European Aviation Safety Agency - about) for Europe and the FAA for the USA. We all know it's not a real problem since loads of people leave phones on by mistake and nothing happens. But I understood that new aircraft were being certified for phones (and other things) on board, while existing ones were not because doing it after the design stage was expensive and the cost would fall on airlines not manufacturers.

So a general rule had to wait until enough aircraft were certified for it to make sense. And that still leaves a problem where individual airlines, or some aircraft of one airline, require a "no phones" or even "none of these PEDs" rule. A lot of people would not understand why the rule varies for no apparent reason.

The FAA still says "no voice calls", blaming the FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) - who always said it was up to the FAA. Their equivalent announcement (from last October) still includes the general relaxing of rules on PEDs, which of course either have no transmitter or low-power ones for short range (Bluetooth or WiFi). EASA's own announcement is much less clear, but if you follow the links through for more details it does refer to the need for aircraft certification.



 

[Chris from Nailsea]

That's somewhat misleading.

Wot - the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page), being 'somewhat misleading'??  Shock, horror - whatever next?!