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Flight Attendants Urge FCC to Keep Cell Phone Ban
Allowing airplane passengers to use cell phones in flight could create chaos inside the cabin, interfere with air traffic communications and put homeland security at risk, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said in testimony filed this week with the Federal Communications Commission.
The comments are in response to the FCC's proposal to lift longstanding rules that now bar the use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices.
Calling cell phone use in flight "a prescription for bedlam in the skies," the testimony cites flight attendants' experiences with passengers angry over small annoyances.
"I have seen fist fights because one passenger puts his seat back and the passenger behind him wants to read his newspaper," one flight attendant said. "Can you imagine what would happen when 300 people are gabbing away on cell phones?" Another said, "Harried passengers would go over the edge listening to the noise."
More than 7,400 members of the public have also submitted comments to the FCC in favor of the keeping the cell phone ban. A survey conducted for AFA-CWA found that 63 percent of respondents agreed with the ban and 78 percent of those polled fear that cell phone use could lead to increased disorder in flight and could distract passengers from hearing life-saving instructions in an emergency.
A full 84 percent of those polled said no changes should be made while the Federal Aviation Administration continues to study the risk of signal interference. The AFA-CWA testimony notes "general consensus within the technical community that cellular telephones are capable of producing radio signals that can interfere with an aircraft's communications, navigation and other critical electronic systems."
The FCC believes that new "pico cell" technology could prevent such problems. Pico cells are low-power cellular base stations installed inside aircraft that relay signals from cell phones to the ground. The FCC maintains that pico cells would allow cell phones to operate at their lowest power level, thus minimizing or eliminating the risk of interference.
But AFA-CWA said there are still years of research to be done. "In the commercial airline business, where small failures of critical systems can lead to major catastrophes and large loss of life, pico cell technology that has been thoroughly tested and certified for fault-tolerance is many years away...,"
Further, the union said the FCC's logic is "seriously flawed" when it suggests that allowing open use of cell phones could protect the public in the event of a terrorist threat by making it easier for them to communicate: In such an emergency, as exhibited on Sept. 11, 2001, passengers wouldn't hesitate to use their phones.
But lifting the ban "would make it easier for terrorists to communicate with each other to coordinate a successful attack or defer an attack until conditions were more favorable," AFA-CWA said.
To easily add your voice to the debate, go to www.fcc.gov, scroll down to "Filing Public Comments" along the left-hand side of the page and follow the links to file electronically. The deadline is June 27.
The comments are in response to the FCC's proposal to lift longstanding rules that now bar the use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices.
Calling cell phone use in flight "a prescription for bedlam in the skies," the testimony cites flight attendants' experiences with passengers angry over small annoyances.
"I have seen fist fights because one passenger puts his seat back and the passenger behind him wants to read his newspaper," one flight attendant said. "Can you imagine what would happen when 300 people are gabbing away on cell phones?" Another said, "Harried passengers would go over the edge listening to the noise."
More than 7,400 members of the public have also submitted comments to the FCC in favor of the keeping the cell phone ban. A survey conducted for AFA-CWA found that 63 percent of respondents agreed with the ban and 78 percent of those polled fear that cell phone use could lead to increased disorder in flight and could distract passengers from hearing life-saving instructions in an emergency.
A full 84 percent of those polled said no changes should be made while the Federal Aviation Administration continues to study the risk of signal interference. The AFA-CWA testimony notes "general consensus within the technical community that cellular telephones are capable of producing radio signals that can interfere with an aircraft's communications, navigation and other critical electronic systems."
The FCC believes that new "pico cell" technology could prevent such problems. Pico cells are low-power cellular base stations installed inside aircraft that relay signals from cell phones to the ground. The FCC maintains that pico cells would allow cell phones to operate at their lowest power level, thus minimizing or eliminating the risk of interference.
But AFA-CWA said there are still years of research to be done. "In the commercial airline business, where small failures of critical systems can lead to major catastrophes and large loss of life, pico cell technology that has been thoroughly tested and certified for fault-tolerance is many years away...,"
Further, the union said the FCC's logic is "seriously flawed" when it suggests that allowing open use of cell phones could protect the public in the event of a terrorist threat by making it easier for them to communicate: In such an emergency, as exhibited on Sept. 11, 2001, passengers wouldn't hesitate to use their phones.
But lifting the ban "would make it easier for terrorists to communicate with each other to coordinate a successful attack or defer an attack until conditions were more favorable," AFA-CWA said.
To easily add your voice to the debate, go to www.fcc.gov, scroll down to "Filing Public Comments" along the left-hand side of the page and follow the links to file electronically. The deadline is June 27.