Airline cell phone use still long distance in US
Does the 27-nation bloc European Union’s rule to allow travelers to scrap the ban on in airplanes cell phones’ impact their future use on US routes?
No.
Cell phone use on flights is banned by two regulatory agencies. Both said they have no plans to change their rules.
Alison Duquette, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency is concerned that phones could interfere with planes’ electronic equipment.
“The bottom line for us is that the FAA has no plans to allow passengers to use cell phones on commercial flights,” he told the AP
The Federal Communications Commission also bans cell phone use on flights, out of concern for interfering with phone networks on the ground. That agency opened a review of the issue in 2004 but ended it last year without taking action.
Passengers will be able to use cell phones in the sky over Europe later this year under new rules that will allow travelers to stay in touch — and raise the prospect of sitting next to a chatterbox at 30,000 feet.
Travelers are already expressing concern about noisy passengers.
Report by David Wilkening
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