Electronic Devices Now Allowed for Entirety of Flight

Link: Austin American Statesman: Electronic Devices Now Allowed for Entirety of Flight

Category: Airplanes, FAA, Technology

Level: National

Concerning an enacted policy that has been passed to deal with an issue that families/individuals face

Why is this important/how does this affect individuals/families? The passing of the new guideline allowing electronics to remain on for the entirety of flights is important because it will affect the in-flight experience for individuals/families. 

My Views: I am glad that the Federal Aviation Administration finally updated their guidelines to allow flight passengers to use their electronics for the entirety of flights. Frankly, I think majority of people have been doing this for quite some time. Considering the vast advances that have been made in regards to airplanes, the rule enforcing passengers to turn off their devices seemed a bit outdated. As long as the airplane had electronic interference protection, which almost all do, the use of electronics has no impact on the technology used to control the plane. If fact, the rule seemed to cause more problems and complications than anything. To be honest, the constant “friendly reminders” by flight attendants to power down devices was an annoyance that created unnecessary drama. There have been countless passengers that have been kicked off airplanes for not turning their devices off. There is always at least one ignorant passenger on every flight that either refuses to turn off their devices or believes they are sneaky enough to hide it. While the fault lies with the individual who refuses to abide by FAA guidelines, the whole situation seems a bit ridiculous and is preventable. With the updates to the guidelines, hopefully less passenger initiated incidents will occur and flights attendants can turn their attention to more pressing issues.