mobile phone question

[beana]

Recently, I boarded a well known low-cost airline to fly a 1 hour journey back to Stansted Airport in Essex. Once everybody was buckled up and ready to go, the Captain announced that there was now a half hour delay until take off, then explained that as a result we would end up circling around the airport for another half hour as Stansted closed at midnight for 30mins, so instead of circling, we would wait another half hour. So basically we were about to sit in the plane for 1 hour. So i decided to send a quick text message to my friend who was due to pick me up, and let her know not to leave yet, otherwise we would have a massive car park bill..
But the FA came along and told me to switch the phone off, so i explained that i intended to switch it off but due to the delay, needed to inform my friend quickly before she left home, otherwise the parking bill will be ridiculous, but she snapped 'you can text once we have landed at Stansted'. Im not one to argue and be difficult and i appreciate that she must get obnoxious people on their phones all the time, but i had to then answer that it would be far too late and pointless by then as she would already be at the airport, but she then replied 'tough, its the rule, all mobiles switched off, we are about to take off' and i said 'ok but we are about to sit here for another hour arnt we?' and she replied 'no we are about to take off so switch it off now or i will have to take action' so i apologised and switched it off.
The engines didnt start and we didnt take off until an hour later, as the Captain had told us, and on leaving the carpark the bill was £18...just what i predicted would happen due to not being able to let my friend know.
So i just wondered (as the FA obviously wasnt prepared to tell me) what harm would i have done in just sending that quick text message?

A passenger nearby shouted at the FA 'miserable jobsworth', which is not the attitude i have, i knew there must be a good reason.
Again, im not being thick or difficult - i know FA's are there for our safety and i wouldnt ever try and cause problems for them, I just havnt got a clue what problems my 1 text would have caused in that hour and if someone could tell me then it will put my mind at rest...

Thanks

-curious pax

[EZYJET2006]

They do always say not to turn on or use your mobile until you are inside the terminal building.

[robbic]

Always a tricky one!

Following the rule as such, yes mobile phones should stay switched off, however, in my experience if there is a lengthy delay, as the in-charge, I would tend to ask the Capt permission that mobile phones can be used. With my airline, some Capt say yes, some say no, but at the end of the day its his aircraft and what he says goes.

[Getoutofmygalley]

Beana

You haven't said if the aircraft engines were running. Basically, if they were running then the FA is right to say 'switch it off' as all phones must be switched off when the engines have started.

However, if the engines are off, the FA could have asked the flight crew if it is possible for pax to use their phones.

Most Captains will allow pax to use their phones on the ground when the engines are off and you are experiencing a delay (subject to local airport rules )

[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 !.

[sinala1]

Following the rule as such, yes mobile phones should stay switched off, however, in my experience if there is a lengthy delay, as the in-charge, I would tend to ask the Capt permission that mobile phones can be used.

I too am the same Robbic - if there is a delay, or we have been diverted, I always try to get captains permission for pax to sms/call their loved ones.

[goodgirl]

Not all airlines state that a mobile phone must not be used until inside the terminal building. Some including the worlds favourite let you use it until aircraft doors have closed or engines are not running on arrival.In most instances as mentioned above, the captain will say yes. sounds like the hostie on this occassion had a bad day

[chandlers dad]

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.

[cokecropduster]

As long as the seat belt sign was turned on and there were no stairs attached to the plane with the door open, then you should have been able to use the phone. (according to my airline)

[Hostee]

Ermm.. the airline i work for, you can use your phone until we close doors. Then you can use them again, once we have landed and are on the taxiway... so yes, with engines still running and plane moving.

[beana]

Thanks for your replies guys, no the engines were not running, they didnt start until an hour later!!

[BMED LHR]

Mobile Phones .

Mobile phones and personal electronic equipment

The CAA has conducted research which provided evidence that a mobile phone transmission on-board an aircraft may interfere with equipment including communications, navigation and flight control systems. There is circumstantial evidence that portable electronic devices such as CD players and computer games can also cause interference. As a result there is a requirement that:
The use of mobile phones on board is prohibited once all of the aircraft doors are closed.
In addition, the use of personal electronic equipment by passengers, such as laptop computers, electronic games, calculators, CD players, cassette players, radios, TVs, video cameras and remote controlled toys, is prohibited during take-off and landing phases, when the passenger seat belt sign is on, and whenever the aircraft commander suspects that their use may be the cause of interference.
Hope This Helps !! www.caa.co.uk

[sukigirl]

Not wanting to open a whole can of worms here but your friend could have found out you were delayed by checking your flight info on the internet, on the phone or by teletext. Thats why the info is available, its a much more sensible way of informing people who are picking you up of your arrival time. My husband checks my arrival time every time im due to fly home in case of any unforeseen delays and to prevent him from worrying.

I appreciate that one call or text is quite unlikely to interfere with equipment but once you let one person use their phone you will have everyone using theirs as you cant have one rule for one and a different rule for another. It was my understanding that once the doors are closed the flight crew are in constant communication with the tower and the caa would not be at all happy about a planeful of pax on their mobiles. At the end of the day we are just doing our job and following the procedures we were taught in training.

[beana]

Thanks sukigirl, i understand exactly what you are saying.
I would never normally want to use my mobile once on the plane, but just before boarding, everything was on time-which i texted to my friend, then as soon as we had sat down, a 1 hour delay was announced. And i just knew there was no way she would have a reason to check for delays by then and was probably about to leave... Anyway i guess its just one of those things that happen sometimes, i should be grateful the FA was alert and doing her job and we all got home safely, regardless of a parking bill!

[sukigirl]

Thanks for that response beana, I see your point about your friend not being aware of your last minute delay to check airline info.

BMED i clicked on that link but couldnt navigate to the mobile phone regs. I know that gadgets such as furbys and psp's (if they are being used in connection with another handheld) are not to be used in flight. However have heard that some airlines are begginning to allow the use of mobiles in flight as some a/c are being fitted with certain equipment to stop the interference. can anyone shed some light on this?

[Octopussy2]

I was on a BA flight a couple of months ago which had finished boarding but was going to be delayed for about half an hour because they were finalising some minor repairs to the aircraft; the Captain announced that we would be delayed for a while and said that we were free to use our mobiles, on the understanding that we would turn them off again as soon as he said so; it seemed to work fine.

Seems to me that Beana got someone who was having a bad day and was keen to spread the misery around (or, more charitably, perhaps was inexperienced and applying the Company's rules rigidly, without using her discretion to ask the flight deck to give permission).

[BMED LHR]

Hello

Originally Posted by sukigirl

Thanks for that response beana, I see your point about your friend not being aware of your last minute delay to check airline info.

BMED i clicked on that link but couldnt navigate to the mobile phone regs. I know that gadgets such as furbys and psp's (if they are being used in connection with another handheld) are not to be used in flight. However have heard that some airlines are begginning to allow the use of mobiles in flight as some a/c are being fitted with certain equipment to stop the interference. can anyone shed some light on this?

Furbys , Lol ...
I went on the CAA website and just put in mobile phones on the search section .Also there are some mobile phones that have flight safe mode , This is allowed DURING FLIGHT ONLY, NOT TAKE-OFF/LANDING .But to be honest I don't really know much about them and when I ask passenger's if the mobile is in flight safe mode , When they have there mobile's on during flight , I just smile and hope it is !! The CAA website is very good , As it has loads of info and you can see that the crew are just doing there job by the way SEP procedures tell us .

And on that note I have left my mobile switched on loads of flights by mistake ..oop's I know naughty , This subject is really GREY . But when I was at Virgin Atlantic one of the Girls a crew member was reported to the captain on a British Airways flight by another crew member and he returned the aircraft to the gate and had her taken off the the flight for texting during taxi and and for that silly mistake , but she should of known better ,She can now only commute on BMI . So just keep your mobile off to be safe .

[Piltdown Man]

You had a "jobsworth" on that flight. You should write a snot-o-gram to he airline and complain. Unfortunately, there are a lot of morons in cabin crew management and they like nothing better than trying to wind up passengers be enforcing pointless rules which these idiots try and explain "are for safety". To be honest, I don't know what the risks are to the aircraft with mobile phone useage in flight, but I do know that it is very irritating to hear phones "hunting" for a signal when in flight. As for my flights, I tell my passengers that they may use their phones during a ground delay and that they may walk around untill we are ready for departure. Also, if an extended delay is expected, we'll also arrange for water and juice to be served. In addition, I also invite any passengers with any questions to speak to me personally during the wait. But when in flight, I do expect phones to be turned off.

[FD Floozy 12]

As is quite clear with this thread, different airlines have slightly different rules regarding the use of mobile phones. The point is though that passengers can't possibly be expected to know them all, and cabin crew ought to enforce their airline's rules kindly and politely.

You poor thing Beana....sounds like your FA that day was a proper dragon!

xx

[gib]

a singapore airlines B747 crashed into a mountain because of a pax using a mobile phone

WE DONT MAKE UP THE RULES AS WE GO IF YOU WANT TO USE A MOBILE WHILE TRAVLING GO BY BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!