Pilot explains why passengers need to put phones in airplane mode

We’ve all heard the in-flight announcement to switch our phones to Airplane Mode—but how many of us truly understand why it’s necessary? A pilot on TikTok, known as @perchpoint, recently posted a video explaining the reasoning behind this rule and why it’s more than just a formality. He began by addressing a common misconception: “This is just a friendly PSA that the Airplane Mode button on your phone is not a conspiracy,” he explained. “It’s not the end of the world. The plane will not fall out of the sky, and it won’t even mess with the systems on board.”

However, he pointed out that “it does have the potential to mess with the headsets. There’s a potential that those radio waves can interfere with the radio waves of the headsets that the pilots are using.” According to him, the issue arises when multiple phones are actively trying to connect to cell towers. “If you have an aircraft with 70, eighty, hundred and fifty people on board, and even three or four people’s phones start to try to make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves,” he explained. “There’s a potential that those radio waves can interfere with the radio waves of the headset that the pilots are using.” To make his point clear, the pilot shared an example from his own experience. 

“Last night in San Francisco, we had pushed off the gate, we were talking to the rampers. We disconnect from the tug, started the engines, and then once we got the plane turned around, we started heading towards the taxiways. And I called the ground to get our clearances to which direction we had to go. And as soon as we started getting the directions, there’s this, like, really annoying buzz going through the headset,” he recounted. He painted a vivid picture of the inconvenience. “It kind of sounds like there’s a mosquito in my ear. Like I said, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s definitely pretty annoying when you’re trying to copy down instructions and it sounds like there’s just like a wasp or something flying around you,” he said.

“So if you’re ever curious why you gotta put on airplane mode, that’s why,” he concluded. The comments section quickly became a mix of reactions, ranging from skepticism to full-on support for the pilot’s explanation.@tannertoejam argued, “Yeah I refuse to believe any airplane mode garbage. If it truly presented ANY risk to the flight, airlines would be collecting phones from passengers.”

@lifeaslaurel suggested, “I think y’all should normalize getting on speaker and saying exactly this: ‘I can hear in my headset some of y’all do not have airplane mode on.’ It’ll freak people out, they’ll turn it on.” Other users were more appreciative of the pilot’s insight. “Why are people so mean?! Thank you for sharing this. I really didn’t think it actually mattered,” @cortneyinkcmo wrote. @babynahas added, “I DON’T UNDERSTAND why people feel the need to argue this point,??? There is no connection up there ANYWAY! JUST PUT IT ON AIRPLANE MODE!!!” 

You can follow perchpoint (@perchpoint) on TikTok for more travel and airplane tips.