Australian passengers flouting mobile phone ban in the skies

AUSTRALIAN passengers are repeatedly ignoring safety bans on mobile phones and using their devices mid-flight, the national air safety investigator has found.

Passengers have been caught using their mobile phones more than 500 times since the beginning of last year on just one airline, a report by the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB)says.

“The proliferation of personal electronic devices (PEDs) has made the potential much higher for non-compliance but it is not possible for cabin crew to check that all PEDs are switched to flight mode and then off,” the airline, which has not been identified, told the ATSB.

“In this respect cabin crew act in good faith that passengers are compliant, responsible and accountable themselves.”

The use of mobile phones is banned during flights because it could interfere with the vital aircraft navigation system and cause a crash.

Current regulations give crew the power to ban the use of any device that could threaten the safety of an aircraft.

The ATSB investigation stemmed from a passenger complaint made through its confidential reporting scheme, REPCON, about others texting and using the internet on their mobiles during flights from Sydney to Melbourne.

Concern was raised that cabin crew may not be taking the safety matter seriously and had failed to adequately warn passengers to turn off electrical devices or put them in flight mode.

The airline responded, saying the “hundreds of reports that come through each year” from their staff showed cabin crew and members of the public took the issue seriously.

But they said it remained a difficult issue to police, especially during takeoff and landing when crew needed to be seated.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has reviewed the ATSB report and is satisfied with the airline’s response.

The ATSB has warned: “It is very important that passengers listen to and comply with announcements from the cabin crew when these restrictions apply.”

Experts say that electromagnetic waves emitted by mobiles can interfere with a plane’s electronics and cause a crash, concerns that were outlined in an investigation by the New York Times last year.

Virgin Atlantic has also this week announced it will allow the use of mobile phones on 20 planes via a separate telecoms base station and satellite system.