Before boarding an airplane, all electronic devices must be turned off during take-off and landing. This has always been the rule in recent decades, although there has never been any definitive documented instance regarding the risk of dangerous interference from electronic devices that could cause a plane crash.
Among other things, the discussion does not apply only to mobile phones, but to all devices capable of emitting radio waves as well as laptops, tablets and iPods.
It is these days that the news that airplanes can now keep all electronic devices on, including cell phones, as long as they are in Airplane mode, i.e. offline .
Airplane mode is a setting available on most electronic devices that connect to the internet or a cellular network, which suspends the device's broadcast signal.
Until now, airplanes have required all passengers to turn off their cell phones and other electronic devices before take-off and landing, without airplane mode.
This is because, in the absence of secure information, prudence was always better and, therefore, the removal of any possible cause of problems, even presumed ones.
Even in airplane mode, a smartphone still emits some electromagnetic radiation, as do devices that cannot connect to the internet, such as MP3 players.
The measurement of the "offline" Airplane mode is therefore still prudential, because in reality even the use of the mobile phone on board has not been proven to create interference to the control cabin.
The FAA, the American Federal Aviation Administration, has put together a committee to study the problem, concluding that Wi-Fi in particular, cannot in any part of the flight, cause problems with on-board navigation.
Recent American studies have also shown that a third of passengers don't always turn off devices (and don't put their cell phones offline) during take-off and landing.
Most airlines that fly in the U.S. fleet are able to handle any problems that arise from a Wi-Fi device.
New generation aircraft are more robust and better shielded against electromagnetic interference and any disturbance that can affect an electrical circuit due to electromagnetic induction or radiation emitted by an external source.
Furthermore, in many specifically equipped planes, today, you can also connect to the internet so it is clear that the precaution of not being able to use the phone even in these planes seems a bit forced.
In the next few months, however, European airlines will adapt to the new legislation and allow everyone to hear music, play and read on the smartphone and tablet screen, even if they do not connect to the internet.
This is therefore only the first step towards a more permissive regulation that will lead all passengers in flight to connect to the internet and remain connected from their smartphone or tablet even during take-off and landing.
The ban on using a mobile phone on board, essentially, will be more related to the disturbance that the ringing and the use of the telephone can give passengers more than the presumed danger of radio interference.
