Why are cell phones allowed on planes but not allowed to be used? If they are dangerous why not ban them.?

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Justsyd

They aren't dangerous. When using a cell phone in the air it can scramble the signals on the ground. They can be used in the air, but they don't want to risk it.

"One major problem with trying to use your own phone after takeoff is that if you can get a signal you will actually be "seeing" more than one tower and this can cause a lot of problems with the system on the ground. The digital phones have a shorter range than the older analog phones but can still cause problems. The phones installed in the plane are all linked together, shielded to prevent interference, and are hooked to a special antenna on the outside of the plane that link to special sites on the ground that do not use the same system as your regular phone and are set up just for airborne use."

krikors_lamb

The airlines and FAA try to allow you to use whatever you can on the airplane. They could more easily ban cell phones from carry-on, but since people need them for traveling (that's why they're MOBILE phones, after all) people will still bring them. If people can't carry them on, they'll check it in checked luggage. The problem there is that the FAA will start to get all sorts of claims from people that their cell phones were "stolen" from their checked luggage from going through security check. (In fact, some of them WOULD get stolen, and some people would just lose their phone and think it was stolen from security or just even make it up and lie).

The Cell phones can interfere with the plane's controls. If you take your cell phone and hold it near your computer's speakers while they're on, or near your TV, see what it does. It doesn't destroy anything, but it makes noise and interference. That's what can happen to a plane's controls if people use their cell phones on the plane.

Realistically, if a few phones are on it won't affect the plane's instruments, but of course if they allowed any phones to be on then everyone would want them on and it would DEFINITELY cause a problem. And you wouldn't want to crash because of too many people using cell phones!

I always comply with the "cell phones off" policy, I don't want to make a problem for the plane. Also, they DO allow you to use the cell phones until the cabin door is closed, so you have a few minutes when you board the plane to make some phone calls. After that, just turn it off, sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight!

Dennis K

The reason they are banned is because the telephone companies cannot switch you from cell tower to cell tower at 500 miles per hour. It would disrupt communications on the ground as 200 people tried to switch over all at once. This is changeing and you should be able to call normally in a few years because planes will be equiped to handle your calls. It doesn't interfere with the planes communication which is assigned completely different frequencies.
Haven't you ever turned on your phone on a plane to play a game. No one comes rushing over to say turn it off because the plane just got lost.

pffffffff

It's not handy to ban them. Once you are on the ground again a lot of people want to use their cell phone. It's a bit expensive to buy a new phone every time you want to travel.
I used to work overseas and bought a prepaid card so I could use my phone. Also a lot of people are using their cell phone when their on holiday.
On the plane they always asked you to turn it off. Most people understand that it's for their own safety.

wellv it will mess up there stuff on board that is y u cant use them but how would u like to leave your cell phone at home when u go on a trip i dont think u would soo that is y u cant still take them but u can not use them

brainy_ostrich

There are certian times that you can use cell phones on planes and times that you can't. It's not because they might explode but because they interfere with the communications equiptment.

drubaby32698

Not dangerous, they just interfere w/ Air Traffic communication. That is why they ask you to power them off.

Dr. O'Pinion

The cell phone can seriously interfere with the instrumentation panel of the aircraft resulting in loss of crucial aviation coordinates. Do you want to fly into the side of a mountain on a rainy day or land in the middle of the ocean?

BadGirlGimpy

The phone is only a threat when it is turned ON.
Besides it would be rediculous to ban the cell phones. The world operates by them. We'd be lost without them.

It doesn't make sense when you can just turn them off.

LadyMagick

They cannot take them away from us, but they can ask us not to use them.
I just watched an episode of Mythbusters on this subject. They got mixed results. On a plane taxiing the runway, (of course they couldn't try it in midair)it didn't seem to have any effect. But in their lab, using all the proper equipment to analyze, it did make a change in airplane equipment.
It was very interesting. Maybe ya'll should check it out online and see their conclusions.

Milka

you can't ban cell phones (and laptops for that matter) from airplanes/carry-on because it would piss the average businessman off...and they are the ones that the airlines live off of.

hey, let's face it...there are so many ways to get around all the regulations and security checks...if someone wanted to blow an airplane up, they could do it if they had a good plan and good relations.

I flew from europe to the US the day after what happened in London, and I had a bottle of water in my carry-on....noone cared!