Originally Posted by
stifle
Ryanair allowed calls onboard for a while on specially-fitted aircraft, but quietly dropped it, presumably due to low take-up. I used it all of once, because I don't fly Ryanair very much.
The reason I was given (and I have no idea whether this is right; my qualifications are all in maths) was that when a mobile phone is switched on, it sends out a low-amplitude signal seeking to connect with the nearest base station. If it can't find one, it starts sending stronger and stronger signals, and it is these strong signals that (allegedly) interfere with airline operations. When a plane is fitted with equipment to facilitate mobile calls, people's phones connect straight away and never get to the point of sending the strong signals.
That's how mobile phones work, but I don't buy for a second that even the strongest signal sent out by a phone can cause any problems. On a plane of 150 pax, I guarantee you that at least one person has their phone on, either intentionally or unintentionally (happened to my dad a few weeks ago, the power button accidentally got pushed while it was in his pocket and he had no idea until we landed and saw that it was already on, I joked that every flight has one schmuck who leaves their phone on, and he was that schmuck on our flight
). If mobile phones really could take down a plane, planes would start falling out of the sky left and right until the TSA banned phones.
I turn my phone off to comply, and because at 30,000 feet you don't get a signal anyways, and a phone constantly searching for a tower will use up the battery more quickly. So there's no reason to have it on. But I don't believe phones can take down a plane. If they did, Al Qaeda would've figured it out by now and bought all of those terrorist a-holes iPhones
