A flight attendant has explained the important reason why people are asked to put their devices on Airplane Mode when flying.
Most passengers have heard the announcement countless times, often followed by a few groans from teens and the occasional eye roll from parents who were hoping a bit of YouTube would keep the kids occupied until landing. Still, there’s a practical safety reason the request is made before take-off and again ahead of arrival.
When Airplane Mode is switched on, it disables a device’s wireless connections — including mobile data and GPS — stopping it from trying to communicate with networks while you’re in the air.
Some people question how much it really matters, but Mandy Smith, a former Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member, has shared why it’s taken seriously.
“If you’re away that Airplane Mode needs to be on, please do so,” said Mandy.
Explaining the reasoning, she said: “This is to prevent us losing signal from a beacon.”
She then described how those signals are used at key moments of the flight, stating: “Say a radio beacon would be there and you’re coming into land or taking off, [the beacon] would signify where the ground is and the ground level. The aircraft is following that beacon.”
In other words, it’s not about stopping you from scrolling — it’s about avoiding unnecessary interference from additional radio signals in the cabin.
Mandy added: “Any other radio signals such as mobile phones, even Furbies – they used to ban Furbies back in the day – are not allowed because they could interfere with that signal.”
She also spoke about another behind-the-scenes practice many travellers don’t realise happens on flights: pilots typically won’t eat the same meal.
It isn’t because they’re giving separate verdicts on the menu, but because the airline doesn’t want both pilots becoming ill at the same time.
She said: “If one has the chicken, the other one has to have the fish. They always decide that between themselves before they tell us what they want.”
“That’s incase either of them has food poisoning,” Mandy revealed. “Obviously we don’t want both of them throwing up… not that our food is ever bad but, you know, it’s just a precautionary measure.”
She also noted that pilots can’t simply eat while seated at the main controls — partly because the last thing anyone needs is a hot meal spilling onto sensitive equipment used to operate the aircraft.
It’s the kind of scenario that would make for an alarming announcement over the intercom: a diversion because someone dropped their dinner over the console.
And after a delay like that, most passengers would be pretty p*ssed off…