<P> Critics of the ban doubt that small battery - powered devices would have any significant influence on a commercial jetliner's shielded electronic systems . Safety researchers Tekla S. Perry and Linda Geppert point out that shielding and other protections degrade with increasing age, cycles of use, and even some maintenance procedures, as is also true of the shielding in PEDs, including mobile phones . </P> <P> Several reports argue both sides of the issue in the same article; on the one hand they highlight the lack of definite evidence of mobile phones causing significant interference, while on the other hand they point out that caution in maintaining restrictions on using mobile phones and other PEDs in flight is the safer course to take . </P> <P> Many people may prefer a ban on mobile phone use in flight as it prevents undue amounts of noise from mobile phone chatter . AT&T has suggested that in - flight mobile phone restrictions should remain in place in the interests of reducing the nuisance to other passengers caused by someone talking on a mobile phone near them . </P> <P> Skeptics of the ban have suggested that the airlines support the ban because they do not want passengers to have an alternative to the in - flight phone service such as GTE's Airfone . Andy Plews a spokesman for UAL's United Airlines was quoted as saying "We don't believe it's a good safety issue"... "We'd like people to use the air phones ." </P>

Does using your phone on a plane do anything