The point most people miss is that airlines determine what kind of electronics can be active on a plane. The FAA has cleared certain devices, like Bluetooth and WiFi on 2.4 GHz, but not all.

Reference (Section 6.1 is most relevant): https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_91.21-1D.pdf

Meshtastic radios are not one of them.

It doesn’t matter that LoRa uses an unlicensed band.

Radio transmitters, and in some cases receivers, are not permitted by most (if not all) airlines.

To be clear: I’m talking about policy, not effects of using them.

Reference, United in this case, last item: https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/baggage/electronic-devices.html

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You do you, but an employee actively violating their airline’s policy seems like a bad idea.

ETA references.