The FAA has been mulling the idea of allowing the use of electronic devices during takeoff for a little while now. The FCC, however, is getting impatient—and its chairman is now urging the FAA to get a move on.
The FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski wrote a letter—people still do that!—to Michael Huerta, the acting administrator of the FAA, this week, reports The Hill. He urged him that it was time to "enable greater use of tablets, e-readers, and other portable devices" during flights. Finally, good sense. His reasoning is something we can all agree with:
"[M]obile devices are increasingly interwoven in our daily lives. They empower people to stay informed and connected with friends and family, and they enable both large and small businesses to be more productive and efficient, helping drive economic growth and boost U.S. competitiveness."
In the scraps of the letter that are publicly available he doesn't mention that gadgets won't make an airplane explode. But we're sure that's what he was getting at. [The Hill]
Image by Derrick Coetzee under Creative Commons license