Why airlines must ban FaceTime, WhatsApp calls

For more than better part of a decade, frequent flyers have been calling for and dreaming of faster Internet.

We wanted the bandwidth to stay in touch with the world below – to research a destination or work on a project, clear the inbox, binge a Netflix series or watch a live sporting event.

Too often, inflight Wi-Fi simply wasn’t up to the task, and we learned to live with that.

Over time, speeds gradually got better, reliability increased, and Wi-Fi became something we could count on.

Then came Starlink: an innovative network of over 9,000 micro-satellites, spanning the globe in a low orbit around 550km above the Earth, compared to conventional geostationary satellites parked almost 36,000km high.

This superfast connection averages 100-150Mbps, making it true “broadband above the clouds”.

Meanwhile, the close proximity of each Starlink satellite to Earth reduces latency – the time it takes for signals to bounce between the plane, the satellite and the world below – to near-zero.

Eager for an edge in their competitive market, airlines are rushing to sign up to Starlink’s inflight Wi-Fi service.

Qatar Airways, United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Air France, SAS, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and now Emirates are all on board, and no doubt more airlines will follow.

The rival Amazon LEO network – formerly known as Project Kuiper – is building momentum, with US carrier JetBlue as its inaugural customer for a 2027 launch.

Be careful what you wish for...

It’s a new era for airlines and their passengers, and it arrives at a time when almost everyone has a smartphone and is hyper-connected to friends and family. 

But fast inflight Wi-Fi has created a noisy problem that nobody really planned for.

In the bad old days of slow satellite Internet, the technology itself acted as a natural firewall of sorts.

You couldn't FaceTime your family or take part in a Zoom meeting because the connection was simply too terrible.

Even when the speed may have been there, the lag made conversation impossible – so nobody bothered trying.

Now, those technical barriers have vanished. And without them, the peace and quiet of the airplane cabin is under threat.

The dark side of Starlink?

I saw this firsthand during a recent Starlink-equipped flight.

The Wi-Fi was flawless – honestly, better than what I have at home and in many hotels – but the calm of the business class cabin was shattered by several fellow passenger who decided this was the perfect time for loud, lengthy video chats with their family or partner.

Because the picture was crystal clear and the audio didn't skip a beat, they felt comfortable chatting away at full volume, just as if they were relaxing in their own lounge room.

Of course, they seemed to forget they were in a shared space, surrounded by people who had paid thousands of dollars for a bit of privacy and rest.

Incidents like this are becoming increasingly common –  and we already know what happens when phone etiquette is left to the individual.

Walk into any airport lounge these days and you’ll spot travellers seemingly allergic to headphones, barking into their phones on speaker mode or conducting FaceTime tours of the buffet.

Trains, buses, cafes, food courts have also become public arenas for what should be private calls.

Until now, the aircraft cabin was the last sanctuary from this digital noise, mostly because the tech didn't allow it.

Now that it does, airlines need to step up.

Why airlines need to ban FaceTime and Zoom

It's time for a hard ban on Voice over IP (VoIP) and video conferencing services in the air.

I am neither a boomer or a luddite. I'm a huge advocate for inflight connectivity, and enjoy being able to message and work from the sky as much as anyone.

Flights when I am disconnected from simple messages back and forth with my girlfriend in the middle of the night can feel incredibly long, and sometimes lonely.

However, there's a world of difference between silent data consumption – typing emails, watching movies – and broadcasting your conversation to every seat in a three-row radius.

Ideally, we could rely on people to read the room – or in this instance, the cabin.

But experience suggests that hoping for "manners" is a losing strategy. Social mores are no more, it seems.

The fix is simple.

Network administrators can easily block the specific protocols used by Zoom, Teams, FaceTime and WhatsApp video and their ilk, while leaving the pipe wide open for streaming, scrolling and working.

Some airlines already prohibit voice calls. But not enough.

As global heavyweights move to this new era of superfast Wi-Fi, they need to update their acceptable use policies to match.

High-speed Wi-Fi is a brilliant tool for staying connected to the world below. But it shouldn't be a license to force everyone around you to listen to it.