Texting at 10 000 Feet

We're used to turning our devices off when we fly. You send that last message to whoever is meeting you, power down and hope that there's something worthy of your attention in the complimentary magazine. When there isn't you vacantly stare at the safety instructions or the menu because anything is better than making accidental eye contact with the person sitting uncomfortably close to you and will continue to do so for the near future.


We've all been told that the polite demand to power down is due to interference with the plane controls. It's coercion through fear, but the evidence to support this is practically non-existent. Would you get on a plane that could fall out the sky because of a tweet?

More than anything this policy is about manners. You don't have a loud and animated discussion in a crowded space full of strangers and planes fall into the same category as elevators, trains and cinemas.

SAA is joining a handful of airlines cautiously entertaining the integration of mobile devices into air travel, whether it's passengers doing status updates at 10 000 feet or pilots using manuals on iPads instead of huge textbooks. So yay for the environment there.

We think it's a step in the right direction, so long as everyone remains polite and considerate. Cos it's not like they can ask you to leave because you're bothering everyone else, is it?