EU Will Allow 5G Use on Flights Starting 2023. Goodbye Airplane Mode

The European Commission has ruled that airlines can beginning allowing 5G usage on airplanes and the deadline for member states to comply is 30 June 2023. While the details are still unclear, this means that passengers will be able to use their phone to some degree for calls, texting, streaming and downloading—basically, everything they use their phones for—during flight.

While airlines will lose revenue from WiFi or tablet rental, according to the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, this would instead lead to other “innovative services for people” when there is “superfast, high-capacity connectivity”.

In the past, there have been concerns regarding how mobile phone frequencies could interfere with the flight control system, et cetera, which led to the integration of the “Airplane Mode” into our phones, disabling all mobile network and wifi functions with just one tap. But the EU and the UK use different sets of lower 5G frequencies and the risk of interference to aircraft systems are negligible

While many of us look forward to 5G in the sky, there are some who lament the end of “Airplane Mode”. Many travellers appreciate the time spent disconnected from the phone, when the office (or spouse) cannot reach them. And having to spend the entire flight seated next to someone having a drawn-out conversation on the phone would be one of the prices to pay for this new in-flight benefit.

Next, perhaps, we would have to pay extra for a “Quiet Flight” in a no-phone zone or purchase noise-cancelling headphones from the in-flight shopping catalogue—is this what Mr Breton meant by “innovative services for people”?