Originally Posted by A and C
As one from the pointy end I will always let the pax use there phones if we are delayed providing the aircraft is not about to move.
There is a whole load of rubbish spouted about mobile phones being a risk in terms of induced EMF being a fire hazard, I find it hard to swallow that the 0.25W UHF TX from a mobile being a hazard when most airliners have 5 DME units putting out 200W UHF TX whenever the radio bus is powerd.
In my opinion most of the regulations have been writen by cabin crew management who take the stance that if they don't understand it they ban it !.
Correct and many people making these rules do not think a whole lot about it beforehand. Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Airbus all have airplanes in use by various military forces around the world.
Every one of them have been tested by beaming radiation of various forms at the airframe/airplane from inside and outside to make sure that they are ok to fly in a battlefield environment. Every one of the airplanes that is flying today in military colours has already passed this test.
Anyone who thinks that the radiation from one or even 50 cell phones inside the plane will cause damage or make a plane go off course might want to rethink this. Yes, the old analog phones with a leaky filter would cause problems when making a call near the wiring bundles of the plane. As well most pilots have at one time or another forgotten to turn their cell off, and heard some feedback in the cockpit speakers at times. I have worked for and flown with two of the three companies listed above, and part of my flights were doing these acceptance flights for various aircraft. We usually had a mobile phone with us and they were usually left on as we knew that it was not an issue.
Sitting on the ground with the doors open or closed, engines running or not, its not a safety issue to make a call or txt message. Most Captains allow pax to do this but unfortunately some like to be difficult then threads like this pop up.