In Flight Gadgetry

It seems incongruous and not a little annoying that in this day and age our phones, laptops, iPads, iPods and other devices have to be turned off during flight landings, taxiing and take off. A little like those well placed signs in Service Stations that say mobile phones must not be used while attending the pumps - one may ask why, but until now it was believed that these devices could interfere with the electronic circuitry on aircraft, thereby endangering life - and indeed there have been incidences where cell-phone and Internet may have caused circuitry failure on occasion.

However, the FAA (The US Federal Aviation Administration) are considering a report which recommends that these restrictions could be lifted. If the FAA accept the report, it seems likely that the British Civil Aviation Authority will be pressed to do the same. It appears that aircraft technology can now cope with Transmitting Portable Electronic Devices, but a situation where hundreds of devices are being used simultaneously on landing and take off - critical times during any flight - has not yet been fully tested.

Naturally, lifting these constraints opens up a whole new set of problems; do we really want people all around us holding shouted conversations with friends, family and work colleagues while we're trying to read our Kindles? Will "I'm on a Plane!" soon replace the ubiquitous "I'm on a Train!"? Certainly, it will open up  the provision of in-flight Internet Access - for a, no doubt, exorbitant fee and Airlines may even start to provide work stations at the seat. 

I'm not sure that the relative peace and quiet that is now forced upon us by these restrictions is not preferrable to a free-for-all unrestrained availability of access to everything, that will be ill-used by the ignorant and uncaring, and one may hope that the Authorities will think hard and long before lifting them. 

There may, of course, be some pressure from the Airlines themselves who will wish to take the opportunity to provide premium internet access during flight for a charge, but I'm sure that the safety aspects will take priority - they have thus far.

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