Report: Transportation Department proposes allowing in-flight phone calls

The Department of Transportation on Thursday released its proposed rules allowing each airline to decide whether its passengers will be permitted to make in-flight phone calls using the aircraft's onboard Wi-Fi system, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The department said the rules are meant "to protect airline passengers from being unwillingly exposed to voice calls within the confines of an aircraft." In effect, airlines and other air transportation vendors would be required to provide advance notice to travelers that their flights may be disturbed by passengers making in-flight phone calls.

Before the proposal could become official, the publication reported, DOT officials will analyze the public's reaction to its proposed rules. The agency reportedly also indicated that it is still considering an outright ban on phone calls on all flights in U.S. airspace.

Read the full report by The Wall Street Journal here.

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Report: Transportation Department proposes allowing in-flight phone calls