The airlines, FAA and TSA have some silly rules. You follow them because you have to get to point B from point A without too much problem. Most of the angst we feel when flying is bottled up, because we all know what it's like to get pulled out of line or possibly removed from a plane. You might miss your meeting, interview or review. So you stay quiet.

One of the sillier rules is the ban on cell phones during a flight. Why is this a silly rule?

Many people blame the FAA for the cell phone ban. In fact, the FAA commissioned a study in 1996 and didn't find a reason to ban cell phones. The ban came from the FCC. The FCC was right to ban cell phones as a traveling cell phone would literally suck up capacity on cell sites as it passed by. But today things are different.

Technology development and newer cell phones make this a non-issue now.

The ban was always silly to me, because if the cell phone was a potential crash issue why are they even allowed on the planes?

This week saw discussion that the cell phone ban might be lifted. The FAA is close to completing a new study looking at interference issues and the FCC is fine with removing the cell phone ban. The issue is one of passenger comfort.

The Flight Attendants Union has raised an interesting point. Pat Friend, president of the union said:

We believe they can't consider this purely on a technological basis. They have to consider the implications to on-board safety and the human factors. What effect would cell phone use have on the occupants of that airplane?

It's a great point and one I support. After a very long week of working out of town I just want to relax on the plane before going home. Is having someone next to me talking into their cell going to help me?

If the ban is lifted airlines will still have the ability to restrict cell phone usage.

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