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Is it time to end airline ban on cell phones?
When Peter Zapalo saw a crew member messaging on his BlackBerry while cruising at 36,000 feet, he reported it to Southwest. He got back a form letter explaining the attendant must have been the handheld device to “update alcohol sales.”
Zapalo was skeptical.
"I was maybe two feet from him and you could see his text, a response, and his reply," Zapalo said. "I’m sure passengers are sneaking around and doing this all the time, but c’mon — the flight attendant?"
The conflict between an always-on society and the rules on the use of in-flight electronics is hardly new.
The Federal Communications Commission has long prohibited the use of cellphones while airborne. But passengers have refused to turn off their handsets on planes since there have been handsets.
And with a rise in the number of wireless-enabled planes — the largest provider of airborne communications, Gogo Inflight, offers hotspots on more than 700 commercial aircraft — the problem appears to be taking off.
Asked about the texting flight attendant, a Southwest Airlines spokesman told travel commentator Christopher Elliott that Zapalo hadn’t necessarily seen the employee break the law.
"Generally speaking, it is completely feasible for someone to text or e-mail while their device is in airplane mode," said Chris Mainz. "Therefore, they would not be transmitting any signals and still be within the guidelines of the FAA. The text or e-mail would not actually transmit until the phone is back on."
There are various reasons today’s passengers are not always meeting the spirit of the law. For example, more people are becoming attached to their ever-present cellphones.
There is also more pressure than ever to stay in touch with a phone.
Says Elliott:
“Given the recent increase in disputes over electronic devices, and the likelihood that there will be even more in the years to come, what’s the solution? Some say that revising the rules is the sensible fix, to account for the fact that turning off a phone is no longer realistic.”
By David Wilkening
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