FAA Panel to Propose Limits on In-Flight Internet Use

A federal advisory committee is expected to call for expanded use of personal electronics during takeoffs and landings, but some key restrictions on voice calls and Web use are bound to remain.

The industry-government panel, which is expected to decide on specific recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration, is looking to ease controversial restrictions that currently prohibit passengers from turning on any electronic devices below 10,000 feet. Despite the anticipated changes, onboard Internet connections likely would remain banned or inoperable on most flights below 10,000 feet for the near future, limiting the devices' usefulness in that airspace. The committee and the FAA are likely to maintain the current prohibition on the use of cellular connections throughout the flight—whether for voice or data—and they may even require fliers to disable Wi-Fi capability on all types of devices during takeoffs and landings. Such regulatory revisions also pose potentially thorny enforcement issues. Flight attendants would be required to continue policing the use of devices during certain phases of flight, though checking whether fliers were in compliance could become far more nuanced than it is now. Cabin crews might have to determine whether a device's Wi-Fi or cellular connection has been deactivated.