For some time now, for safety's sake, passengers have not been allowed to use their mobile phones while on a plane, but that looks set to change with the coming of the latest Airbus.

In controlled experiments, a mobile signal was first sent to a receiver in the plane's engine room, then to a computer server, after which it is transmitted to the ground by a satellite communications system before finally being connected to the telephone network.

It is hoped that, if tests continue to prove successful, it will not be long before passengers need no longer switch off their mobiles for the duration of their flight.