Why Do You Have a Slow Phone Connection on the Tarmac at the Airport
If you’ve ever boarded a plane only to find your phone connection suddenly cut off when you’re trying to send a pre-flight message, you’re not alone. This is a problem that worries most passengers right before departure or shortly after landing, just when they most need a lifebuoy to the outside world. “It seems that everyone is looking at your phone immediately after landing, and I can not figure out whether they are satisfied or online, they continue to try to freshen up, as I,” – wrote one traveler on Twitter about his flight experience.
My long-standing theory was that while you are on an airplane, it is more difficult to access a stable connection; after all, you are sealed in a metal box. And, as it turns out, this theory carries some weight.
In a report this week by writer and University of New Orleans professor Christopher Skhaberg for the Atlantic, Chaberg spoke to three commercial pilots of major airlines such as British Airways and Delta about the reasons for the slow telephone connections on the runway. … (The communication doesn’t seem to work for the pilots in the cockpit either.)
According to these pilots, the design of the airports is the reason why you cannot send a text message so easily. Although cellular antennas typically cover long distances, they likely do not provide sufficient coverage to cover the entire distance of the airport, including the runway. As a result, and to ensure adequate coverage of their terminals, at least airports often use so-called distributed antenna systems that work best indoors. In other words, you end up in the middle of the terminal antennas that really only work in the terminal, and those antennas that don’t quite reach the asphalt – and the result is a bad connection.
Add to that the concerns of your phone constantly looking for an antenna to connect and some aircraft that prevent you from connecting due to their design (in particular the 787 due to the material used for their structural integrity), and you find that your inbox is struggling to update.
What can you do to fix this problem? Well, not quite. But we have a few suggestions that can make waiting on the tarmac less painful, especially if your flight is delayed and you are stuck on board. First, stock up on Netflix downloads well before heading to the airport. If you’re heading to an unfamiliar destination, here’s how to save Google map areas for offline use so you can plan your trip ahead of time. You can also use these saved maps to create or update an offline spreadsheet with your route.
And if you’ve finally returned to the airport and your connection still leaves a lot to be desired, here’s how to get the best Wi-Fi connection at any airport.