US Congress calls a halt to annoying in-flight mobile calls

05 August 2008

A voice vote is called to stop mobile phone use on passenger planes

The US Congress has declared that it wants to ban the use of mobile phones on passenger aircraft, principally because such calls are annoying and potential dangerous - members told of personal experience in which they were subjected to talk relating to a passenger's sex life whilst another passenger grew increasingly upset after receiving a call to end a relationship.

This decision flies in the face of recent European legisliation which has moved to allow airline passengers to talk on their mobile phones during flight. Along with that move, a selection of US-based airlines is investigating the use of the Internet during flight.

However, according to the Associated Press website, this new move by the US Congress might make such action impossible. Some members of Congress believe the airlines might try to exploit the conflicting legisliation by offering ‘quiet' areas of the plane - as you can already find with ‘quiet coaches' on the railway. However, observers have been worried that such moves might trigger airlines to charge more for such quiet seating.

Click to read the Associated Press story