The Federal Aviation Administration is considering whether to relax rules that ban the use of in-flight electronic devices. For the techno-geeks out there, that’s good news.
But I have even better news: The FAA is not – repeat, not – considering a change in rules banning in-flight cellphone conversations.
I do not consider myself to be a technoid. I was a bit behind the curve in obtaining a cellphone … but that was on purpose. I declared victory in my publicly stated desire to be the last man on the planet to get a cellphone. And the phone I now possess is not a “smart phone,” but rather it’s a dumb device that performs essentially two tasks: It allows me to make phone calls and to receive them.
So, I don’t care much about whether the FAA allows I-Pads and I-Pods and Play Station devices to be used while jetliners are in flight. Have at it, folks. As the article linked here notes, the FAA does allow pilots to use these devices to chart their flight plans. Thus, some folks say, it’s only fair to let passengers have a little fun with these gizmos while they’re sitting in cramped seats back in the passenger compartment, right?
I am happy to report that sanity continues to rule at the FAA, as it regards the use of cellphones.
I can think of few more unpleasant circumstances than to be caught sitting next to someone – in a pressurized aircraft cruising at 35,000 feet above the Earth’s surface – who is chatting nonsensically with God-knows-who on a cellphone. Enduring water torture is worse, I suppose.
I barely can contain myself when I see motorists blabbing on these devices, even though Amarillo has said this activity is now illegal.
Our streets are crawling with lawbreakers, City Hall!
The day the FAA allows that kind of activity on board commercial jetliners is the day I stop flying anywhere. I am guessing I won’t be the only one who’ll stay on the ground.