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A small aeroplane silhouette, marking the setting that disables a device's radios.
Also known as: Flight mode, Aeroplane symbol, Plane icon
The aeroplane icon marks the setting that turns off a device's wireless transmitters. It does not mean the device is on a plane, and on most systems it can be overridden to leave Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on — so the icon names a setting rather than a state of the radios.
Marks the setting that disables a device's wireless transmitters — cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth — in one action.
Contexts: Software
Does not reliably mean every radio is off: most current systems allow Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to be re-enabled while the mode remains on, so the icon indicates a setting rather than the state of the transmitters.
Contexts: Software
Turns off the device's radio transmitters, and which ones has changed. It began as a single switch disabling everything that transmits; since airlines began permitting short-range radio in the cabin, most devices allow Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to be switched back on individually while the mode remains active, which is why the icon can be lit at the same time as the Wi-Fi icon.
2000s onward, relaxed through the 2010s · Contexts: Software
Is used away from aircraft as a general radio-silence switch — in hospitals, in a cinema, to stop a phone waking a sleeper, or to save battery where there is no signal to find. The aeroplane in the icon records where the setting came from rather than where it is used.
Contexts: Public information, Software
The silhouette of a fixed-wing aircraft seen from above or in three-quarter view, with a pointed nose, swept wings and a tail fin.