Phone calls on flights banned? It could happen with new law

NewsCongress has introduced a bill to ban phone calls during flights. (Sebastian Restrepo/MassLive)Congress has introduced a bill to ban phone calls during flights. The Quiet Skies Act is bipartisan legislation that would “finalize a ban on in-flight calls on commercial planes.”According to the New York Post, the bill would force the FAA to uphold a previous law — The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which passed but was never implemented. “The bottom line is simple: a disruptive cabin is a distraction, and distractions put safety at risk,” Democratic Congresswoman Hillary Scholten said in a statement, per The Post. “Back in 2018, Congress passed a law requiring the FAA to ban voice calls on commercial flights, and eight years later, that still hasn’t happened. Our bipartisan bill gives the FAA 180 days to finally finish the job and protect passenger safety as well as passenger sanity.”Rep. Rob Bresnahan acknowledged how aggravating a call on a plane can be, saying, “No one wants to be stuck next to a stranger’s phone call for three hours at thirty thousand feet.”If the bill passes, airlines will have within 180 days to start enforcing the new mandate.Former flight attendants say talking on the phone inside a plane is already against the policies of some airlines, but making it the law would protect passengers as well as the flight crew.“We’re shoved into a tin can, and we’re hurdling through the sky at 38,000 feet. It’s not a normal situation to be in,” Ally Murphy, a former flight attendant and cabin service supervisor at Virgin Atlantic, told Business Insider. “If you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with somebody and having to speak loudly, you’re really disrupting the other passengers around you.”According to Business Insider, United, American and Southwest airlines prohibit in-flight phone calls, but British Airways earlier this year said it would allow phone and video calls on aircraft with Starlink WiFi. Virgin Atlantic also allows phone calls on its Starlink-equipped flights, though it asks that they be kept short, and it does not allow video calls.Mark Heim is a senior writer who provides sports, news and trending content. He co-hosts a daily sports radio show on WNSP-FM 105.5 in Mobile. Heim has been recognized with awards for his writing, headlines and...