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Cell Phones Would Put Passengers, Crews at Risk
Stressing safety and security risks, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Pat Friend told a House subcommittee on July 14 that cell phone use has no place in the friendly skies.
"AFA categorically rejects the notion that cell phone use on aircraft is a necessity," Friend said, testifying before the U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee "It is our position that in far too many operational scenarios, cell phone use could be far worse than a mere nuisance: It could have catastrophic effects on aviation safety and security."
The Federal Communications Commission began a rule-making process in December that proposes to lift the ban on cell phone use in flight on planes equipped with new types of wireless technology.
The Federal Aviation Administration has said it will maintain the ban regardless of FCC action, although Friend says the FAA isn't being entirely forthright. The ban would allow an exception for cell phones and other portable electronic devices "if an aircraft operator has determined that (it) will not interfere with the navigation or communication systems of the aircraft."
Even if that level of safety could be guaranteed, Friend said the debate over cell phones must also consider the human factor. "What effect in-flight cell phone use may have on pilot workload or interference with a flight attendant's safety duties due to incidents of passenger air rage is an unknown at this point," she said. "This will be one of the issues that we will continue to assess and monitor if cell phone technology proliferates onboard aircraft."
The FCC continues to persist even in the face of thousands of public comments filed against its proposal, along with a national poll showing that 63 percent of air travelers are similarly opposed. The Department of Justice is also opposed, citing fears that cell phones could be used to coordinate terrorist attacks in flight.
In leading the public campaign against cell phone use on airplanes, AFA-CWA even garnered support from the wireless telecommunications industry. "We believe there is a time and place for wireless phone conversations, and seldom does that include the confines of an airplane flight, "Cingular Executive Vice President Paul Roth wrote in a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.
"AFA categorically rejects the notion that cell phone use on aircraft is a necessity," Friend said, testifying before the U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee "It is our position that in far too many operational scenarios, cell phone use could be far worse than a mere nuisance: It could have catastrophic effects on aviation safety and security."
The Federal Communications Commission began a rule-making process in December that proposes to lift the ban on cell phone use in flight on planes equipped with new types of wireless technology.
The Federal Aviation Administration has said it will maintain the ban regardless of FCC action, although Friend says the FAA isn't being entirely forthright. The ban would allow an exception for cell phones and other portable electronic devices "if an aircraft operator has determined that (it) will not interfere with the navigation or communication systems of the aircraft."
Even if that level of safety could be guaranteed, Friend said the debate over cell phones must also consider the human factor. "What effect in-flight cell phone use may have on pilot workload or interference with a flight attendant's safety duties due to incidents of passenger air rage is an unknown at this point," she said. "This will be one of the issues that we will continue to assess and monitor if cell phone technology proliferates onboard aircraft."
The FCC continues to persist even in the face of thousands of public comments filed against its proposal, along with a national poll showing that 63 percent of air travelers are similarly opposed. The Department of Justice is also opposed, citing fears that cell phones could be used to coordinate terrorist attacks in flight.
In leading the public campaign against cell phone use on airplanes, AFA-CWA even garnered support from the wireless telecommunications industry. "We believe there is a time and place for wireless phone conversations, and seldom does that include the confines of an airplane flight, "Cingular Executive Vice President Paul Roth wrote in a letter to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.