FCC withdraws the proposal to allow using phones on airplanes

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement regarding his proposal that the FCC terminate its 2013 proceeding that sought to relax rules governing mobile communications on planes:

“I stand with airline pilots, flight attendants, and America’s flying public against the FCC’s ill-conceived 2013 plan to allow people to make cellphone calls on planes. I do not believe that moving forward with this plan is in the public interest. Taking it off the table permanently will be a victory for Americans across the country who, like me, value a moment of quiet at 30,000 feet.”

The proposal was to keep the ban on using phones during take off and landing, but allow it when the plane is at cruising latitude. As you can see from the statement there are no concrete reasons mentioned in the statement.

The understanding so far was that technological advances made possible the use of phones, as they will not interfere with the navigation of the plane.