I always thought that switching on a mobile phone on a plane would cause it to fall uncontrollably to the ground.
I was absolutely horrified once on an internal Air Egypt flight when shortly after take-off a few people started using their mobiles and ignored the stewards and stewardesses requests to swith them off. In any case we made it back to Cairo safely!
Now it seems that Ryan Air will follow Air Egypt’s lead by allowing passengers to make mobile calls during certain flights. Calls will be charged at a rate of just over $2 a minute.
The specially modified planes have low-power repeaters that require the minimum of signal output from mobiles, reducing the likelihood of any interference with the sensitive navigational systems.
I have to say though that our flight from Luxor to Cairo went OK without any special equipment. I’m wondering if the need for a ban on mobile phone usage is exaggerated somewhat - but I guess for the airline industry it’s a case of safety being a top priority - except for Air Egypt, in my opinion!!!