Some members of the US Congress are seeking to ban airlines from allowing cellphone calls while an aircraft is in the air. The calls by Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Steve Cohen come ahead of a meeting on Thursday of the Federal Communications Commission that will discuss whether to move forward with a proposal to allow calls and broadband access above 10,000 feet. If the agency approves a rule change, after a period of public comment, it would be up to each airline to decide whether to permit calls on their planes.
More congressmen are seeking to add their support against this rule change and some are gathering signature to a letter to the FCC opposing in-flight phone calls.
The main factor against allowing this rule is the annoyance to other passengers to have cell phones used throughout the flight however some lawmakers are wary that airlines will see in-flight calls as a new opportunity to make a profit and charge passengers extra to sit in a non-talking section or charging people to use their phones.