24/09/2005 - Hello, I'm just on a plane...

Late next year, Bmi (formerly British Midland Airways) are planning on running a trial on a new system designed to allow airplane passengers to use their mobile phones whilst on long flights.

The argument here, from Bmi Chief Executive Nigel Turner, is that "Passengers have two concerns - getting through the airport quickly and carrying on their work on the journey". This is all well and good, but it seems their research has not taken into account how those that don't want to use phones on a flight will feel.

However, this aside, with a steady flow of research coming out showing evidence that the radiation emissions from phones and base stations are causing a number of short term health effects, and that they also increase the risk of long term health problems such as cancer, it seems highly irresponsible to risk greatly increasing everyone's exposure for the entire duration of the flight, which could be anywhere up to 12 hours. The plan is to have an base station enclosed within the structure of the airplane itself, so even those choosing not to use their phone will be bathed in electromagnetic radiation for the duration of the journey.

Technical innovations have made our lives quicker, easier, and for the most part more efficient, but the health of the public should never be so wantonly jeapordised for the sake of increasing a company's share of the business class clientele.

- Original article in the Daily Mail