US Department of Transportation may allow phone calls on flights, are you on board?
The Department of Transportation considers waiving its restrictions on in-flight phone calls, and is looking for industry, as well as passenger input on the matter. Needless to say, it will be left up to the airline, and even up to the particular flight in more granular detail to decide whether they will lift the ban on airborne calls, plus there will have to be an announcement before take-off whether that flight permits calls.
Even then, it might take many months and even a year or two until the process of lifting call restrictions is complete, but, still, the reactions are pretty telling. Comments range from the level-headed "I'll have to invest in noise cancelling headphones" through the realistic "you'll have to listen to..."We're about to land...Were flying over our neighborhood... Can you see me waving?" to the more ominous "You are stuck in an aluminum tube 5 miles above the earth listening to an a**hole for 5 hours."
That is why we wanted to gauge your opinion on the matter, as the DoT and aviation experts are also taking passenger input on the matter as part of the discussion process on the way to a final decision whether to lift the in-flight phone calls ban or not. Take your pick in the poll below, and tell us what you think about this undertaking.
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Things that are NOT allowed: