HOUSE BILL WOULD BAN PASSENGER MOBILE CALLS ON U.S. COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS

摘要

Language deep in a huge Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill would ban all voice communications by commercial passengers using mobile devices on scheduled U.S. flights. The bill cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in March. It's in the Ways and Means Committee, which must sign off on aspects of the legislation before it heads for a House floor vote. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., a senior member of the infrastructure committee, has been a leading supporter of the ban, and he pushed to include it in the FAA reauthorization, a committee aide said. DeFazio and other members are especially concerned about VoIP calls made using Wi-Fi systems being installed by a number of U.S. airlines, a committee spokeswoman said. nn" The public doesn't want to be subjected to people talking on their cell phones on an already over-packed airplane," DeFazio said last year when he and other senior members of the committee introduced legislation to impose a ban. The reauthorization bill says the ban wouldn't apply to the flight crew, flight attendants or federal law enforcement officers acting in an official capacity. The legislation would tell the Secretary of Transportation to require all domestic and foreign air carriers to adopt the prohibition. But it would allow foreign governments that objected to negotiate with the U.S. Interest groups are urging Congress to hold off on a ban while it looks into the matter. The Coalition for an Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council sent letters to leaders of the infrastructure committee asking for a study of the use of wireless communications devices on commercial airline flights.