Dhaka, March 31 -- Most air travelers have heard the instruction to enable airplane mode before a flight takes off, but few fully understand the reasoning - and some have simply forgotten to do it altogether. So what actually happens when a passenger doesn't comply?

According to pilot and flight instructor Gary Coxe, who has logged 7,000 flight hours across jets, helicopters, and gliders, the answer is straightforward: "Not a darn thing." An anonymous Washington-based airline mechanic echoed the sentiment.

However, most aviation experts acknowledge a subtler concern. A pilot and U.S. Army veteran known as PerchPoint on TikTok explained in a December 2024 video - which garnered 1.2 million views - that phones not in airplane mode can int...