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Can a Phone Interfere With a Plane? Airplane Mode, Explained

Short answer

Neither myth is right. An FAA committee found that most airliners tolerate radio interference from passengers' devices, but that on about one percent of flights, in low visibility, some landing systems may not be proven to tolerate it, and crews may ask for devices to be turned off. In the United States, airplane mode also keeps you within an FCC rule that bans using cellular phones while airborne.

By Elvis Li and Jay Yang

Two myths

One says a single phone call can bring down an airliner. The other says airplane mode is an old habit that nobody needs. Both are repeated often, and the official record supports neither.

What the FAA found

In 2013 the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) asked a committee of airlines, manufacturers, pilots, flight attendants, passengers' groups and the mobile industry to review the rules. Announcing the result, the FAA said the committee had found that most commercial airplanes can tolerate radio interference from portable electronic devices, and that airlines could safely let passengers use them in all phases of flight.

The same announcement gave the exception: in some low-visibility conditions, on about one percent of flights, some landing systems may not be proven to tolerate the interference, and passengers should then be asked to turn devices off. Heavier devices should be stowed for take-off and landing. And all devices should be in airplane mode; Wi-Fi on board and Bluetooth accessories are fine where the airline allows them.

The FAA's guidance to airlines, InFO 13010, tells them to keep requiring airplane mode (cellular transmitters off) from take-off until landing. Under US rules, it is the airline that must determine that devices will not interfere with the aircraft's navigation or communication systems, which is why policies differ between airlines.

The rule that is about radio, not safety

Phone calls are a separate matter. The FAA said plainly that you still cannot talk on your phone during a flight because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) governs that. The FCC rule says cellular phones carried aboard any aircraft must not be operated while it is airborne and must be turned off when it leaves the ground.

Europe does it differently

Since 2008 the European Commission has reserved frequencies for mobile phone services on planes, and in 2022 it added 5G. The service runs through special equipment in the cabin, a pico-cell, which connects to the ground, typically by satellite. It works only on aircraft that are fitted with it and where the airline offers it, so the airline's announcement on board is the rule to follow.

The real interference story was on the ground

The one recent case where phone networks did worry aviation regulators had nothing to do with passengers' phones. When 5G service in the C-band started in the United States in 2022, the FAA said the frequencies can be close to those used by radio altimeters, which measure height above the ground for low-visibility landings. Airlines upgraded their altimeters, and the FAA says the risk to commercial passenger aircraft was mitigated by the end of September 2023.

The skill: follow the announcement

Switch to airplane mode when the crew asks, and leave it on until they say otherwise. Use on-board Wi-Fi only if the airline offers it. Stow laptops and other heavy devices for take-off and landing. If the crew asks everyone to turn devices off before a landing, do it: it may be one of the rare low-visibility approaches the FAA had in mind.

Common mistakes and myths

  • Do not believe that one phone call will crash a plane; the FAA found most airliners tolerate passengers' devices.
  • Do not ignore a request to turn devices off; on a few low-visibility landings it matters.
  • Do not make calls in flight in the United States; the FCC bans airborne use of cellular phones.
  • Do not assume every airline has the same rules; each one sets its own policy.

Questions people ask

Can a phone really interfere with a plane?

Rarely, and mostly in theory: an FAA committee found most airliners tolerate passengers' devices, but some landing systems may not be proven to tolerate interference in low visibility, on about one percent of flights.

Why can't I make calls on US flights?

Because an FCC rule bans operating cellular phones while an aircraft is airborne. The FAA has said voice calls are outside its decision on devices.

Can I use my phone normally on flights in Europe?

Only where the aircraft is fitted with an on-board mobile service and the airline offers it. Otherwise, follow the airline's instructions and use airplane mode.

Practise it in the simulator

Fly the autopilot ILS approach lesson: the autopilot follows the localizer and glideslope while you manage speed, flaps and gear down to minimums, the kind of low-visibility approach for which crews may still ask passengers to turn their devices off.

Start this lesson: Autopilot ILS approach

Sources

  1. Remarks announcing expanded use of portable electronic devices (2013) (FAA)
  2. InFO 13010, Expanding Use of Passenger Portable Electronic Devices (2013) (FAA)
  3. 47 CFR 22.925, Prohibition on airborne operation of cellular telephones (US Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR))
  4. 5G on planes: Commission decision on mobile communications on board aircraft (2022) (European Commission)
  5. 5G and aviation safety (FAA)

About these explainers

AeroFox is a free, public-interest project with no paid features. The explainers are written by the AeroFox team from public sources such as FAA handbooks, NASA and regulators, and, for the lessons from the news, from the news reports we link to. Each page lists its sources, and pages are updated when the facts or the lessons change. They explain ideas. They are not flight instruction, medical advice or legal advice, and they do not count toward any licence.