There are a lot of health and safety protocols that go hand in hand with air travel.
Long security checks. Finding the departure gate. Lowering armrests. Raising window shades.
Plus, switching your phone to airplane mode - but have you ever questioned why this one actually matters?
A pilot has shed light on what really happens if passengers neglect this safety measure in a YouTube video posted by WKYC Channel 3. .
He stated it's "not a conspiracy" and emphasized that it’s not the "end of the world" should someone forget.
That doesn't mean the rule isn't important, though.
In the clip, which has more than 26,000 views, the pilot explained: “If you forget to put your phone on airplane mode, no it's not the end of the world, the plane will not fall out of the sky and it won't even mess with the systems on board. However, it does have the potential to mess with the headsets.
"If you have an aircraft with 70, 80 or 150 people on board and even three or four people's phones start to try to make a connection to a radio tower for an incoming phone call, it sends out radio waves, there's the potential those radio waves can interfere with the headsets the pilots are using."
The pilot recalled an incident in San Francisco where he heard an annoying buzz in his headset when a passenger forgot to switch their phone off before take-off.
He likened the sound to a mosquito, stating: "As soon as we started to get the directions, we got this really annoying buzz with the headset.
"It's not the end of the world but definitely irritating when you're trying to jot down instructions and it sounds like there's a wasp or something buzzing around you. So if you're ever curious why you get put on airplane mode, that's why."
So don't forget to switch to airplane mode - no one wants to distract the people who are keeping everyone safe and getting us where we need to go.
