This afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it will be taking a look at the rules on using portable electronic devices during flights.
It’s about time.
It strikes me as silly that I can read a book at take-off, but if the book has been downloaded to an e-reader or tablet, then I have to wait until we’ve reached 10,000 feet or some arbitrary cut-off determined by the government or the airlines. Reading is reading and it shouldn’t make a difference whether I bought a book or newspaper at Hudson News or downloaded the same content while waiting to board my flight. And since most hardback books are heavier than an e-reader, please don’t tell me that this is a “safety issue.”
The bottom line is that this has always struck me as an antiquated rule that no one could explain, especially since there are several airlines that offer tablets for their pilots. In the Air Force, our fighter pilots may soon be wearing tablets to provide them with real-time information!
As CTIA's general counsel also noted in a recent NYT story, there was a study that was conducted more than 10 years ago that found there was no interference from mobile devices. Six years ago, one of my favorite TV shows, MythBusters, proved that cellphones don’t cause interference problems during flights. We can also look at other countries that have already allowed cellphones on airplanes.
Now whether consumers want to allow cellphone conversations on airplanes is another story, but the market should decide that, not the government. In the meantime, it’s time for these other restrictions to fall. The use of portable electronic devices while on a flight – the whole flight - should absolutely be allowed.
12 Responses to “Yes to Portable Electronic Device Use on Airplanes” Leave a reply ›
This needs to happen. With the recent plague of court drama over Alec Baldwin playing a game on his cell while flying, it's only gonna get worse. People rely on their cells for daily entertainment as well as social media. I for one use mine daily if not hourly. I would be lost if something happened to it.
I also think that the rules are silly because as you said long ago the theory of electronic devices interferring with the airplane's own electronic devices have been disproved. I sure hope my days of suffering on long haul flights are over.....bah humbug!