Chatterbox From LAX - JFK...Possible in flight Phone Call Usage
Airlines could let passengers make in-flight phone calls using Wi-Fi under a proposal from federal regulators.
Flight attendants and others have complained that the calls could be disruptive. But the Department of Transportation said Thursday that it envisioned allowing the calls if airlines tell all customers about the policy when they buy their tickets.
That way, customers could make other travel arrangements if they feared sitting next to passengers chatting on their phones.
There is a 60-day comment period, and the proposal leaves the door open to the possibility that federal officials could still impose an outright ban.
The Federal Communications Commission prohibits passengers from making cellphone calls during flights, but not Wi-Fi calls.
"Today's proposal will ensure that air travelers are not unwillingly exposed to voice calls, as many of them are troubled over the idea of passengers talking on cell phones in flight," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. In 2014, the department issued a request for public comments on the possibility of permitting the calls and the response was overwhelmingly negative.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said anything short of a ban on calls is "reckless." Flight attendants have said previously that they fear the calls could lead to fights between passengers who want to make calls and passengers who don't want to listen to the conversations. :(:mad::mad:
