Airline Passengers Could Be Free To Use Mobiles On Flights

Communications regulator Ofcom have announced that passengers on UK-registered aircraft could soon be free to use their mobile phones on flights for both text messaging and phonecalls.

The idea of allowing the use of mobile phones has been discussed since 2007 but still has to pass the necessary approval by UK and European aviation groups. According to Ofcom the proposals have been discussed with other European Union countries and could allow mobile phones to be used over their airspace.

The use of mobile phones would not be completely unrestricted however as their use during take-off and landing-would be forbidden. The aircraft would have to be at an altitude of 3,000 metres before this were permitted. The system would operate via a 'base station' onboard the aircraft and the calls would be registered and billed via the usual mobile phone operators systems.

When asked about the proposal Ofcom said, "The safety of passengers is paramount and mobile systems on aircraft will only be installed when they have secured approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK. If such approval has been secured it will be a matter for individual airlines to judge whether there is consumer demand for these services."

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Published by: Jon Vickery