Is Listening To An MP3 Player On The Plane Allowed?

Kintarō Hattori

Hey Mods,

Sorry if this in the wrong forum. I didn't know if it should be here, Travel & Holidays or Aircraft and Aviation!

We all know your allowed to use a laptop on the plane but I'm curious if your allowed to use an MP3 player? I thought you were but the last time I flew a few months ago with Ryanair the stewardess made several announcements to turn off ANY electronic devices as they interfered with the aircraft's systems.

So were they being anal or are you really not allowed listen to an MP3 player? I had thought you were and have seen people listening to them many times on flights without anything being said.
I'm heading away for the weekend and would like to be able to listen to some music for the few hours that I'll be flying.

Creamy Goodness

depends totally on the airline.

i've flown with delta, AA, aer lingus, czech airlines and virgin and the only one that was anal about me using my mp3 player was aer lingus.

AFAIK you can use laptops on any flight as long as it's not during take off/landing.

SickCert

My son was told to unplug his ears on approach to landing only. The first 3hr were ok.

Wishbone Ash

Not during take off and landing - to enable you to hear any safety instructions that the crew may have to give.

bk

Cremo wrote:

depends totally on the airline.

i've flown with delta, AA, aer lingus, czech airlines and virgin and the only one that was anal about me using my mp3 player was aer lingus.

AFAIK you can use laptops on any flight as long as it's not during take off/landing.

It just goes to show the complete muppetry of some air hostesses.

Laptops are potentially more "dangerous" then flash or HDD MP3 players.

Basically it is all laser devices that airlines ban, so CD players, DVD players and of course the CD/DVD players in laptops.

Flash and HDD based MP3 players are completely safe, in fact the technology found in such devices is just a subset of what is in a laptop.

Of course there is actually little or no proof that laser based devices have any effect on modern airlines (this is pretty much proven that people are left use laptops, which have DVD players and it is very difficult for the air crew to tell if the passengers are actually using the DVD player or not).

seamus

Didn't I hear recently that the European aviation authority (whatever they're called) passed mobile phones as being safe to use on aircraft now?

It's been known for a long time that the chances of electronic equipment interfering with the plane's systems is minimal (passengers have been using mobiles on internal flights in the US for years afaik), but no-one's been willing to say that it's safe in the event that the miniscule chance of a disaster occuring, actually occurs.

Wishbone Ash

seamus wrote:

It's been known for a long time that the chances of electronic equipment interfering with the plane's systems is minimal (passengers have been using mobiles on internal flights in the US for years afaik), but no-one's been willing to say that it's safe in the event that the miniscule chance of a disaster occuring, actually occurs.

If it was so dangerous they would have been doing a security check for mobiles all these years.

I suspect and agree with them that they don't want passengers to get into the habit of using them anyway. The thoughts of sitting beside some business príck bawling into a phone during a flight.:eek: It's bad enough having to listen to it on a bus.

*shudders*

cast_iron

seamus wrote:

Didn't I hear recently that the European aviation authority (whatever they're called) passed mobile phones as being safe to use on aircraft now?

There was never really a safety issue from mobiles on aircrafts.

Airlines decided to issue a "ban" for no real safety reason. The reason they don't work great on planes is because the mobiles have issus passing between different cells of a mobile network.

Comms engineers have come up with a way to combat this and Ryanair are aparently first (that I know if anyway) to start implementing it, which is why they will be offering calls on flights soon.

Kintarō Hattori

I can understand not being allowed to use anything during takeoff and landing but this was inbetween.

Stark

They probably want you to listen to all the ads that they have on their flights these days

therecklessone

Ryanair Travel FAQs

Can I use my laptop onboard?

Yes, passengers are permitted to use the following electronic items once cruising altitude has been reached and the captain has turned off the 'Fasten Seat Belt' sign:

Laptop
CD walkman
Digital MP3 players
Portable DVD players
Non-cellular PDAs
Digital Dictaphones

Davidth88

Hi,

The use of MP3 players etc is a SAFETY ISSUE , thats all. If you are plugged in listening to Kylie you won't hear the crew shouting BRACE BRACE BRACE etc.


EI did have in the magazine a few years ago when iPods first came out that they were banned , but I think that's because they had no idea what they were/how they worked and have since decided they are ok.

As for the use of mobile phones.

You are WAY above the cell range a lot of the time , there are also technical reasons ( ie the speed you are travelling through the cells ). When a phone is not connected to a network, it keeps turning it's power up and up hunting for a cell. Now as for interfering with the aircraft systems , I have no idea , I somehow doubt it ( pilots on this forum any idea ? )

Now FR ( and others ) bringing in mobile networks of their own , this is a money making thing , I know how this is being done , the same technology has been used for a few years on cruise ships. I suppose this proves that it's safe to have them on , but as I said they would be connecting to a network so would be low power .

Just think how much they will charge for roaming !!!!

By the way a lot of airlines in the US and Emerites now let you use your phone until you take off, and as soon as you land while taxing. I must admit I have used mine to send txt's to tell people I am late as soon as I have landed before now.

jmayo

Davidth88 wrote:

Hi,

The use of MP3 players etc is a SAFETY ISSUE , thats all. If you are plugged in listening to Kylie you won't hear the crew shouting BRACE BRACE BRACE etc.


EI did have in the magazine a few years ago when iPods first came out that they were banned , but I think that's because they had no idea what they were/how they worked and have since decided they are ok.

As for the use of mobile phones.

You are WAY above the cell range a lot of the time , there are also technical reasons ( ie the speed you are travelling through the cells ). When a phone is not connected to a network, it keeps turning it's power up and up hunting for a cell. Now as for interfering with the aircraft systems , I have no idea , I somehow doubt it ( pilots on this forum any idea ? )

Now FR ( and others ) bringing in mobile networks of their own , this is a money making thing , I know how this is being done , the same technology has been used for a few years on cruise ships. I suppose this proves that it's safe to have them on , but as I said they would be connecting to a network so would be low power .

Just think how much they will charge for roaming !!!!
...

AFAIK, Ryanair aircraft will in effect have their own cell so to speak?
It will probably cost an arm and a leg to use their network anyway.
Someone once told me another difficulty with using mobiles when in the air (at lower altitudes anyway) is you can end up trying to connect to multiple cells and then you are continously handshaking or swapping to a different cell.
Anyway I have flown Dublin Helsinki with the old mobile on the whole way, never having checked it before takeoff. Lo and behold the plane did not fall out of the sky.
BTW they also don't cause Cessna, Pipers or Robinsons any problems either.

arch_stanton

My Sony Ericsson has a flight mode where the telephone part is turned off but the games, mp3 player etc can be used. I've asked on Ryanair if I can use it and they said yes. I´m sure it could freak out some of the more nervous passengers if they noticed a phone turned on :eek:

Davidth88

Jmayo.

You are exactly right ! The mobile phone systems are designed with a max speed of about 200kmh I believe , as you say the hand off between cells takes time. Some of the 3G networks can't handle anything more than 80kmh, ( I wonder how this performs on a train with a laptop ? )

The amount of times I have landed and heard beep beep beep from the overheads ( not mine ) it's not funny , and yet the aeroplane has never fallen out of the sky.

I must admit I take the flight as a welcome break from the mobile to be honest.

The company I work for is doing trials with a number of airlines, and we already have out kit on cruise liners. For them it allows them to make US local calls anywhere in the world ( they assume all their customers are US )

Steyr

Yes an MP3 is allowed, so is a mobile when in Flight mode.

oscarBravo

On the last few FR flights I was on, they announced that phones and PDAs had to be left off for the whole flight, even if they had a flight mode. They were quite specific.

I'll be flying NOC-LTN on Sep 2, I'll report back if they're still saying that.

blah

oscarBravo wrote:

On the last few FR flights I was on, they announced that phones and PDAs had to be left off for the whole flight, even if they had a flight mode. They were quite specific.

I'll be flying NOC-LTN on Sep 2, I'll report back if they're still saying that.

I flew Aer Lingus DUB-LHR yesterday and they said that exact same thing.

robinph

arch_stanton wrote:

I´m sure it could freak out some of the more nervous passengers if they noticed a phone turned on :eek:

The old chap sat next to me on a flight back from JFK a couple of weeks ago was making a couple of calls during the taxi to take off, it took nearly 2hrs to get from the gate!! He left he phone on all through the flight and even sent a couple of texts as we were flying over Canada. I decided it was best not to freak him out though and didn't bother telling him that he was supposed to turn it off during the flight.

We all landed safely, if a little late.

WexCan

Ever hear that interference on your car radio when your mobile's just about to get a call? Similar things can happen with aircraft radios. In the airline I work for there's been a few occasions where ATC have been inaudible while taxiing due to the interference - could cause a nasty accident in a busy airport.

As for MP3 players, I'm surprised that so many airlines are a bit "behind the times". There's absolutely nothing wrong with using them in flight. They should be turned off for take-off and landing and headphones removed so they don't cause a distraction or block out crew instructions.

Almost every day someone gets uppity with me about our headphone-off policy. They thrust the MP3 player in my face and say "It's off!!". Cue quick lecture about headphones blocking out outside noise and the fact that the passenger needs to be able to hear us if we start hollering.

el tel

The prohibition on MP3 players is a safety issue and very necessary in my opinion. Anyone using one whilst sitting beside me in an aircraft would be certainly be risking their safety... I could easily see hot coffee *accidently* being spilt over them.

oscarBravo

Why?

el tel

oscarBravo wrote:

Why?

Because if I could hear any noise from their player I would have a massive urge to harm them. There are very few things in public transport that are as annoying as passengers whose habits are audible.

oscarBravo

So it's not a safety issue, as you previously claimed?

(Unless you're talking about your uncontrollable urge to pour hot coffee on them, in which case I'd respectfully suggest that you are the safety issue.)

el tel

oscarBravo wrote:

So it's not a safety issue, as you previously claimed?

(Unless you're talking about your uncontrollable urge to pour hot coffee on them, in which case I'd respectfully suggest that you are the safety issue.)

Get a life, possibly??

Stark

Good comeback there</sarc>

RoundyMooney

Travelling by plane these days is almost akin to bussing it anyway.*

Noisy chavs with chipmunk ringtones and cheap ass shrilly headphones are inevitable...

*Except for the perpetual security/baggage/boarding queues...

In other news, el tel, don't get personal, thanks.

kraggy

Steyr wrote:

Yes an MP3 is allowed, so is a mobile when in Flight mode.

Not while in the air with most airlines. e.g. Delta.

Some will allow it at the gate, others not at all.

Steve

A mobile phone in itself has little chance of affecting systems in a commercial jet or even a light aricraft, however, lift the ban and you have potentially 200+ pax in a confined space all with phones on full power trying to aquire a cell. That's where the interference issue is.