Emirates goes mobile

Under brand new regulations Middle Eastern carrier Emirates last week became the first operator ever to allow phone calls from mobiles on a flight to or from the UK.

Last Thursday, passengers on an Emirates Boeing 777 service from Dubai to Heathrow Airport reportedly made 30 mobile calls and sent 100 text messages during the flight.

This follows the announcement that Ofcom, the UK’s communication regulator, had given its approval to the usage of mobile phones during flights originating or terminating in the UK.

Back in March, Emirates began installing its planes with an AeroMobile system which enables in-flight mobile calls without affecting navigation equipment.

Presently, around 10 per cent of the Emirates fleet have been installed with AeroMobile which can only be safely used when the aircraft reaches 23,000 feet.

The use of mobile telephones is also forbidden while the plane is in UK airspace so as to avoid the signal disrupting communication with airport crews.

Staff members on the planes can also turn the system off whenever necessary or transfer it so that only text messages can be sent.

Patrick Brannelly, Emirates vice-president for passenger communications, told Travel Weekly that “we have had no complaints or incidents”.

“The cabin noise level on airliners is such that you cannot hear people making phone calls and the call quality has been so good there has been no need to shout,” he added.

The AeroMobile system has been tested by various other carriers, including Air France-KLM, Turkish Airlines and Qantas.

Low-cost carrier Ryanair has also pledged to install the technology into a quarter of its fleet and then levy a charge for passengers to use the service.