Rules regards mobile phones on airplanes

The use of mobile phones on commercial aircraft is generally forbidden during flight. The most well-known reasons for this banning is that the mobile phone could interfere with the sensitive equipment on the aircraft, and the interference with ground based networks. This policy is often based around the fact that during development, many aircraft were not designed to accept signals from mobile phones and there has not been sufficient testing to be sure that they could.

European aviation authorities say that mobile phones would improve security on commercial air flights without posing a safety risk to the passengers on-board.

The German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing will next year lift the ban on the use of mobile phones on commercial flights, according to German newsmagazine Focus. The German Aerospace Centre (DLR) says that mobile phone signals do not interfere with onboard electronics. Several European airlines say that they too are considering the removal of the in-flight ban on GSM phones.

Several airlines, including Air France, have already launched a trial of in-flight mobile phone services on some European routes. British Midland's bmi, Portugal's TAP and low-cost airline Ryanair are also planning to offer services later this year.

Germany's Lufthansa, however, said Monday it did not want to introduce the service.

Surveys had shown that a large majority of customers were against it, Lufthansa spokesman Jan Baerwalde said.

"People don't want to be disturbed," Baerwalde said. Lufthansa will, however, look at providing fast Internet access on its planes, a service it already offered from 2004 until the end of 2006. The airline is currently looking for a new service partner to reintroduce the service.

Someone in the telecoms industry was quick to reassure us that passengers on aircraft would be more likely to send texts or e-mails than talk on mobiles. He said: "Social norms, as well as excessive background noise, may dissuade most people from making phone calls in crowded planes."

But I have already met Social Norm, and I know all too well that Social Norm never dissuades anyone from making mobile phone calls. Social Norm is the one making the mobile phone calls. The excessive background noise, on any form of transport, is made by a score of Social Norms shouting their thick heads off, and all it does is make them shout louder. I also invite you to note the abyss of misunderstanding that lay behind the spokesman's contention that "most people" would be dissuaded from making mobile phone calls on crowded planes.

But surely unless everybody can be dissuaded, then it would take only one mobile phone user to turn a long-distance flight into a journey through Purgatory.

Oh joy, mobiles may soon be allowed on planes in Europe, so now all those boring bastards who think they are so important that they cannot be out of contact for a couple of hours, will be shouting down the bloody phone disturbing everybody else.*

^{*You may have noticed I think this is a very bad idea!}

However, on the other side, I imagine companies booking flights for their employees could see this as a major bonus, and be willing to pay whatever surcharge is necessary.