What really happens when you don't put your phone on airplane mode during flight

We’ve all heard it before: "Please switch your phone to airplane mode." But what really happens if you don’t?

Beyond the standard announcement and a few raised eyebrows, the truth is a bit more intriguing — and may surprise some. From mysterious myths to the impact on flight safety, and even how your device behaves at 30,000 feet, here’s what really goes down when you leave your phone on during a flight.

In a viral video that has amassed over a million views, pilot and TikTok user @Perchpoint offered a "friendly PSA" to his audience, emphasising that the airplane mode policy "is not a conspiracy".

While he was quick to dismiss any wild theories, joking that "the plane will not fall out of the sky, and it won’t even mess with the systems on board," he did reveal something that many were previously unaware of.

"It does have the potential to mess with the headsets," he shared, adding: "If you have an aircraft with 70, 80, or 150 people on board and even three or four people's phones start to try and make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves."

He likened the interference to a mosquito-like buzzing sound in the headset.

While he was keen to stress that it’s "not the end of the world," he added, "it’s pretty annoying when you’re trying to copy down instructions and it sounds like a wasp or something flying around you".

It didn't take long for blissfully unaware to chime in on the action, with one writing: "I'm proud that I respect my pilots and the fact that they are manoeuvring a 500 ton piece of metal in the sky that I'm sitting in, so yes I’ll turn on airplane mode."

Another urged: "Now imagine this happening during an emergency. Yeah folks, just turn it on."

Meanwhile, one curious viewer was quick to ask whether pilots can hear anything from the interference, to which he responded: "We can’t hear the phone call that’s going on, we only hear the static from the radio waves."

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