US flight attendants to fight mobile rule
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Flight attendants in the US have vowed to fight a ruling that would allow passengers to make in-flight mobile phone calls.
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) said they have commenced an “extensive public and congressional outreach campaign” aimed at reversing a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would allow in-flight voice calls.
“Flight Attendants and passengers are united on this issue – there should be no voice calls in-flight,” the AFA’s international president, Veda Shook.
“As first responders in the aircraft cabin, flight attendants know that this reckless FCC proposal would have negative effects on aviation safety and security. The use of cell phones for voice communication poses unacceptable risks to the security and safety of America’s civil aviation system and must not be permitted.”
The FCC has said it plans to review the current ban on in-flight mobile voice calls – a move would bring the US into line with several other nations that allow in-flight mobile use. And in-flight mobile provider OnAir said these countries have not experienced any negative effects.
“Forget the hyperbole about the chaos in-flight cell phone usage could cause,” said OnAir’s CEO, Ian Dawkins. “The issue simply hasn’t arisen anywhere in the world in the past six years. An aircraft is a noisy environment, so the sound of a conversation doesn’t carry very far.”
The AFA argues however, that the lifting of the ban will “only benefit a few manufacturers and vendors”, while having a negative impact on passengers.
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