Overview
- American Airlines Captain Steve posted a TikTok on Thursday explaining that pilots may tell passengers to switch devices off when preparing for bad‑weather or low‑visibility landings.
- The practice traces to tests in the 1990s that suggested many active mobile devices inside a metal fuselage could cause radio interference with aircraft navigation equipment.
- Captains say the risk is negligible at cruise altitude but rises at lower heights and during precision autoland procedures called Cat III approaches, so crews favour eliminating even remote interference sources.
- The pilot urged passengers to follow a captain’s announcement and power devices off when requested, and coverage notes there have been no reported regulatory changes to these airline procedures.
- Avionics, aircraft shielding, and device technology have improved over decades, yet airlines retain conservative, situation‑based rules to protect final approach accuracy and passenger safety.