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In-flight phone calls opposed
27.03.08Experts on etiquette have expressed concerns over proposals to allow people to use mobile phones on planes.
Ofcom said plans were now in place to allow passengers on UK-registered aircraft to use their own mobiles while in flight in European airspace.
Ofcom said that the new arrangement will involve passengers' own mobiles connecting to an on-board base station. Both of these must be switched off during take-off and landing to ensure they do not interfere with mobile networks on the ground.
Etiquette expert Liz Brewer said she opposed the plan and that if people were allowed to use mobile phones, it should be in a special area of the aircraft.
"To have to listen to someone on the phone the whole time would be really annoying," she said.
"A lot of people want to sleep on flights, so having people talking on the phone would obviously disrupt that.
"You have to have consideration for the person sitting next to you. If you were watching a DVD, you wouldn't dream of having the sound up, so you shouldn't be speaking on the phone.
"If they are going to allow mobile phones to be used, it should be in a special area, where other people won't be disturbed."
Jo Bryant, etiquette adviser for Debrett's, which is the authority on etiquette in the UK, said: "I think this idea will worry people, because people are so close together on planes, and there are no carriages - at least on trains you have quiet zones, which are mobile free.
"There is also the worry that although they are talking about European airspace at the moment, it could perhaps be extended to long haul one day, and it is on long haul particularly that people want to sleep."
