One of the last refuges from the mobile telephone may soon be destroyed by plans to allow calls from on board aircraft.

Ofcom outlined plans yesterday for airlines to instal special base stations on board, enabling passengers to call and send text messages using their own mobile handsets.

Licenced aircraft would link up with mobile operators to offer the service, with passengers billed by their phone companies as normal. However, passengers will pay around £2 a minute for the luxury of using their phone while airborne.

Although many planes already offer on-board phone services, passengers in Europe are currently banned from using their own handsets.

European countries and civil aviation authorities are working jointly to remove the ban. The restriction is in part due to fear of potential interference with planes’ technical systems and with terrestrial mobile networks. But consumer surveys have also raised concerns about one of the last mobile phone-free refuges being spoilt.

In one US study, only 11 per cent of the 50,000 passengers polled said that they wanted to listen to their neighbours’ chatter at 30,000 feet. Many passengers surveyed said that they enjoyed being uncontactable.

The cost of using a mobile while airborne is also an issue. Although the £2 proposed by companies preparing to offer the service is cheaper than current on-board satellite services – which typically charge around £5 a minute – it still represents a hefty mark-up to regular calls.

Conscious of the potential for passengers to be overcharged, Ofcom said yesterday that it would “investigate and address any complaints of excessive charges and any other abuses of competition”.

Airlines said that demand for the services would be high. A spokesman for Ryanair, which plans to introduce a service, said: “It is ideal for passengers who might have had to dash to catch a flight and forgot to tell the office something or to send a few emails. Our flights have never been quiet – passengers can talk as much as they like.”

Air industry groups also pointed to research, highlighted by Ofcom, in which nearly half of all international business fliers said they would prefer to travel on airlines that allow the use of mobile phones in flight.

A spokesman for OnAir, one of several companies set up to provide the kit necessary to enable mobiles to be used on planes, said that the higher pricing reflected the complexity of providing such services.

The group, which already has deals with several airlines, including BMI, said that passenger irritation would also be reduced by the control that air crew would have over the services. “If it is an overnight flight the crew could switch off the voice element while people are sleeping,” he said.

Mobile-free quiet zones, similar to those on trains, could also be introduced. The Ofcom proposals are being developed jointly with other EU countries and will cover all EU airspace.

The Civil Aviation Authority will have to approve the proposed services before they are allowed to go ahead.

Ofcom said that it expects the service to be operational by next year.

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