EU clears path for in-flight mobile phones

Last week the EU ruled in favour of allowing mobile phones to be used on airplanes after it approved the new technology by the telecoms manufacturer OnAir.

Airlines who implement the technology can now allow passengers to chat away on their mobile phones whilst airborne. Currently, only three European airlines have the technology in place; Air France, TAP Air Portugal and BMI. However, the system will first be trialled by the airlines in order to gauge passenger opinion.

It is believed that Air France will begin trials from next month while BMI will kick off tests on short-haul flights by the end of the year.

Other airlines are also said to be considering implementing the new technology but British Airways are only considering allowing mobile phones to be used on short haul flights, nevertheless, it is thought that the majority of European commercial airlines will be testing out the technology by next year.

Currently the US government has imposed a ban on using mobile phones while in the air, meaning that using your phone on a flight to the US will be a no-no for at least the foreseeable future.

On flights that do feature the new calling feature, staff will have power over whether passengers are able to make calls while in the air and will be able to restrict what passengers do with their phones, possibly limiting them to using email and text services only.

Still the idea of being able to use email, and hopefully in the future the Internet, on a plane will no doubt appeal to many who often take short flights over to Europe for business.

For budget travellers however, £1.25 a minute (split between OnAir, the airline and phone network) may seem a little pricey - and you could end paying more for your call than you did for the flight ticket.