As if the FCC and FAA’s indefinite ban on the use of mobile phones while airborne wasn’t enough, a couple well-meaning but likely clueless Congressman have proposed a bill that would effectively ban cellphones from being used on an airborne plane. Apparently, the fear of having to sit next to loud and obnoxious passenger yapping into their mobile phone has prompted Congress to action.
The new bill, entitled, “Hang Up,” will keep mobile phone use prohibited from in-flight use. Says Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), lead co-sponsor of the bill, “the HANG UP Act, would ensure that financially strapped airlines don’t drive us towards this noisome disruption in search of further revenue.â€
The good news is that SMS, email, and IM conversation will still be allowed while in-flight.
The real question here is why are people so damned scared of having to deal with an annoying mobile phone user on their next airline flight? Are they really that averse to confrontation that they won’t be able to turn around and tell that self-absorbed passenger to just “shut the hell up?” I’d love to see unrestricted mobile phone use get the green light on all flights traveling through US airspace. Think of the huge productivity boost – not to mention the satisfaction of telling off that obnoxious yapper behind you.
