Over the last decade, Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has detected a clear link between airplane safety and the use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) such as mobile phones. During this time, CASA reported over 100 signal interference incidents which indicate that PEDs impede airplane navigation, equipment and computer systems.

Although there is no conclusive evidence that mobile phones actually cause plane crashes, Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recently found that mobile phones definitely interfere with avionic systems. This occurs even when a phone is in standby mode because it consistently emits signals to search for reception at base stations.

Moreover, in 1999, CAA’s Dan Hawkes said the aviation industry agrees mobile phones are hazardous in airplanes and should be turned off during flights.

Most companies also ban the use of other PEDs such as laptops and remote control toys during a flight. Interestingly, most passengers willingly comply with safety regulations and the main perpetrators for breaking the rules are the cabin crew.

There are, however, limited times when PEDs may be used during a flight but passengers must wait for permission. For example, Qantas allows mobile phone usage just before departure and after landing but only when permitted by the Captain.

Passengers may also switch mobiles (or PEDs) to “flight mode” during aircraft operation. This setting disables transmitting functions such as calling or messaging but passengers can still listen to music or play games.

“Flight mode” is easy to activate on mobile phones. Sony Ericsson handsets offer a flight mode option the moment a phone is switched which is then indicated by a little red circle at the top of the screen.

As such, there is no doubt that unrestricted and unsupervised use of mobile phones during aircraft operation is dangerous and the safest options are to switch mobiles off or to wait for permission to activate them in “flight mode.”