Allowing passengers to make in-flight cell phone calls would create needless and potentially deadly safety issues, says Transportation Trades Department President Ed Wytkind.
It would also make flying next to chronic cell phone chatters a lot less pleasant.
Overturning the long-standing ban would “interfere with the ability of Flight Attendants and pilots to deliver important safety announcements to passengers, particularly during times of emergency,” said Wytkind.
Even more frightening, he said, is how it could allow terrorists to communicate in real time to more easily launch a coordinated attack.
“There is no upside that would justify this risk,” said Wytkind.
Click here to read the letter Wytkind sent to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), urging the agency to nix any policy allowing the practice before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can overturn the ban.
Besides the safety risk, loud cell phone users in public places ruffle feathers. Problems between passengers would be a headache for everyone on board and it would fall in the laps of Flight Attendants to settle the score.
Passengers don’t like the idea either. A recent FAA poll shows that 61 percent of people oppose in-flight cell phone calls “mainly due to the potential distractions it could cause for other passengers.”
