8 Things We’ve Always Wondered About Airplanes But Not Known Who To Ask

5. Why do they ask us to switch off our electronic devices when I’ve seen people in business/first class use theirs?

I have seen this happening myself. So I researched on the number of crashes that happened because of an electronic device being on. Zero! Surely the economic disparity doesn’t give them the right to play with lives of passengers travelling in the economy class?

It is because some devices might hamper the avionics equipment in the cockpit. Most of these devices work on radio waves, so if those waves match with the airplane equipment, it could alter the way they work. Having said that, chances of this happening in airplanes nowadays is negligible. This rule was put into practice years ago. Planes are a lot more advanced now. Some aircrafts even provide on-board Wi-Fi nowadays! So it’s only a matter of time before this rule gets questioned by the authorities.

6. Why does the flight time to and from a destination vary from time to time?

So let’s say the flight from Delhi to Mumbai takes about 2 hours 10 minutes, but the same flight from Mumbai to Delhi might take 2 hours 30 minutes. Why? It’s not like it takes a different route on the way back.

So this is because of something called headwind and tailwind. Due to strong headwinds going against the plane, it takes more time to reach a place. It’s like swimming against the current, it’ll require more effort and time. When you have the benefit of the tailwind, you are going with the current, making you reach your destination sooner than expected.