Flight mode no more? Airline passengers are set to be told they CAN use their mobile on board jets

Airline passengers in the EU will soon be able to use their phones in the air as they would on the ground, meaning a possible end to airplane mode.

The European Commission has allowed airlines to provide 5G technology on board jets as well as slower mobile data.

Passengers will therefore be able to access their phone’s usual features including streaming music, receiving emails and scrolling through social media as they would using their 5G mobile network on the ground.

EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said: ‘5G will enable innovative services for people and growth opportunities for European companies.

Passengers on flights in the EU will be able to use 5G technology to stream music and films and access social media, just as they would on the ground

‘The sky is no longer a limit when it comes to possibilities offered by super-fast, high-capacity connectivity.’

The update will allow for widespread use of 5G services – a technology which gives download speeds of 100Mbps, according to mobile network EE.

This means a 600MB movie could be downloaded in under 37 seconds, the network added.

EU member states have until June 30 next year to make the 5G frequency bands available.

It was previously thought that phones could interfere with automatic flight control systems, but now the impact is thought to be minimal.

Dai Whittingham, chief executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee, told the BBC: ‘What has been found with experience is that the risk of interference is very small.’

Concerns in the US that using 5G could interfere with flights is much less likely in the UK and the EU, he said.

‘We have a different set of frequencies for 5G, and there are lower power settings than those that have been allowed in the US,’ Mr Whittingham added.