Airplane cell phone calls won’t be allowed in US any time soon

A 2013 proposal to allow cell phone calls during airplane flights will be thrown out by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC prohibited in-flight phone calls in 1991 because of concerns about interference with wireless networks on the ground. Advances in technology have eliminated those concerns, but tech hasn't changed the fact that in-flight phone calls could be annoying to fellow passengers.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing that the FCC terminate the proceeding that might have lifted the in-flight call ban.

“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," Pai said. "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.”

Using phones for texting and Internet use via in-flight Wi-Fi will still be allowed.

Then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a proposal to lift the in-flight calling ban in November 2013, saying that "modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules."

At the time, the FCC said its only role was to "examine the technical feasibility of the use of mobile devices in flight" and that the Department of Transportation would still be responsible for determining whether "allowing voice calls is fair to consumers."

Wheeler's proposal received extensive criticism and the FCC never finalized it. Other government officials and lawmakers proposed additional bans that would have prevented in-flight calls even if the FCC ban was eliminated.

For example, US Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in December 2013 that his department would consider imposing its own ban on in-flight calls. In February 2014, the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted to ban cell phone calls during flights.

These proposals weren't implemented, but nothing changed in practice because the FCC ban remained in place. Even if the FCC ban is lifted, airlines would not have to allow voice calls on their flights. But after today's news, it doesn't appear likely that passenger phone calls will be allowed on planes any time in the next few years.