Passengers are, by and large, happy with the Federal Aviation Administration's announcement that it was changing its stance on the use of personal electronic devices in-flight during takeoff and landing. However, flight attendants are not as pleased.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the largest union of flight attendants in the United States with more than 60,000 members, is suing the agency, saying it acted improperly in allowing airlines to change their electronic device policies and allow passengers to take them out during the most critical parts of the flight.
The union is concerned over safety issues having to do with passengers no longer paying attention to pre-flight announcements because they are already tuned in to their smartphones, tablets or laptops even before takeoff. The union also says that electronic devices are potential projectiles during turbulence and could slow down egress in the event of an emergency during takeoff and landing.
Lawyer Amanda Dure, who represents the union, also says that the FAA violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it failed to issue a public notice about its proposal to change its guidelines and call on the public to make comments before finalizing the new rule.
"Essentially, we want to set the reset button to the way personal electronic devices were handled prior to October 2013," Dure said. She adds that flight attendants are comfortable with having electronic devices turned on during takeoffs and landings as long as they were put away. Once the plane reaches the air, passengers can once again take out their devices if they wish, Dure says.
However, Jeffrey Sandberg, a lawyer for the FAA, questioned the flight attendants' concern over electronic devices flying around inside the cabin, saying smartphones and tablets are no different from other objects such as books and magazines, which the union did not try to ask passengers to put away.
The three-judge panel who heard the case last week will likely not order the FAA to change its guidelines because the final decision ultimately rests on the airlines.
"Airlines have always had the discretion on how to handle this," U.S. District Court Judge Harry T. Edwards of the Washington D.C. Circuit says.
Last year, the agency announced that it was revising its guidelines that prohibited airlines from allowing their passengers to use their electronic devices during landing and takeoff. The agency says a total of 31 airlines, or an overwhelming majority of all airlines in the United States, have since proven to the FAA that their planes are protected from electronic interference and have obtained permission to allow passengers to use electronic devices in airplane mode.
