Pulaski Tickets & Tours

Europe OKs cell calls on planes if airlines allow them

European aviation authorities have agreed to allow cellphone calls during flights, but U.S. opposition remains.

September 30, 2014

0 comments

​Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which has 24,500 members at American Airlines, said the decision should help her airline, which is committed to keeping calls out of the cabins.

"If our competitors in Europe want to allow voice calls, I think it will only drive more business to our quiet and comfortable trans-Atlantic service," Glading said.

The European Aviation Safety Agency issued guidelines Friday allowing airline passengers to use their electronic gadgets – including phones and tablets – during entire flights without being in airplane mode, which turns off signal transmissions.

But airlines must still decide whether to allow the use of electronics. EASA said airlines will have to go through an assessment to ensure that planes are unaffected by electronic transmissions, which may mean differences in which airlines and which planes allow calls.

"We're basically opening the door where, in theory, you'll be able to continue making your phone call through the gate throughout the flight," EASA spokesman Ilias Maragakis told The Associated Press.

The agency's previous policy, set in December 2013, permitted using gadgets only in airplane mode. That is the effective policy in the USA.

British Airways spokeswoman Michele Kropf said in a written statement that the airline led the way for allowing electronics like computers and games but not calls at this point.

"We have no plans to permit the use of mobile phones for voice calls on our flights, as our feedback from customers has shown the majority of them find them an intrusion and disruptive," Kropf said.

The European decision comes as U.S. agencies are considering lifting a 1991 ban on cellphone calls during flights.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted the prohibition out of concern that phones searching for signals would disrupt ground-based stations, but the commission is considering dropping the ban because planes can now carry their own cell towers.

If the FCC drops its ban, the Transportation Department is considering whether to adopt its own regulations.

Even if neither the FCC nor DOT prohibit cell calls, airlines would still have to decide whether to allow them. That prospect brought an avalanche of thousands of comments to the FCC and the Transportation Department from travelers opposed to calls.