European Commission gives approval to in-flight calling over Europe

Not even a week after hearing that Air France was forging ahead with an in-flight calling trial, the European Commission has now voiced its approval of using mobiles on planes in European airspace. After six months of deliberating, the decision was finally made to give airlines the choice of offering up services in order for guests to dial loved ones at 3,000-meters or more. The EU telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, went on to warn operators to "keep the cost of calls made on planes at a reasonable level," and of course, not all is clear just yet. For starters, the European Aviation Safety Agency still needs to green-light the whole ordeal by approving any hardware that would be used, and we won't be seeing any 3G action up high just yet. Still, at least one less hurdle stands in the way of you phoning home from over Europe (and simultaneously making enemies out of all your neighbors trying to get a few decent minutes of shuteye).

[Douglas Bailey @ Apr 7th 2008 8:53AM]

Let's hope this doesn't give rise to people using portable cellphone signal blockers. Some cheap cell signal blockers could leak on to other channels/frequencies which are untested on airline systems.

[Dave @ Apr 7th 2008 10:33AM]

horray for the FCC!!!!! No cell phones in the USA's airspace! :)

[wodheila @ Apr 7th 2008 8:58AM]

Put a cell phone section in where the smokers used to be.

[HDent @ Apr 7th 2008 9:00AM]

Now bring back smoking on planes!!!

[benmully @ Apr 7th 2008 9:07AM]

Please stop this madness!! I can't think oif anything worse than sitting next to some idiot prattling away on their mobile for a whole flight. This should stay banned. Also I'm surprised the 'terrorist' angle hasn't come up yet.

[Ryan @ Apr 7th 2008 9:09AM]

I swear to God, if the person next to me decides to yell into their phone the entire ride…

[snife @ Apr 7th 2008 9:14AM]

This is fantastic - I really look forward to being able to both phone and listen to people of the phone while i'm on a plane, those 4 hours a week I generally spend on planes are just so quiet and boring. Now if only they would get more crying children on the planes and give compulsory cavity searches in security then I think flying would be almost perfect.

[Dave @ Apr 7th 2008 10:37AM]

Yep...now planes really have become Greyhound buses in the air.

[engadgetier @ Apr 7th 2008 9:17AM]

That is very interesting, now terrorists can blow up planes using cellphones, imagine having hundreds of planes go down due to terrorists......... I don't know if I like this......

[snife @ Apr 7th 2008 9:41AM]

I'm sorry but I simply dont get your point - they are allowed to use mobile phones on planes NOT bombs, being able to use a phone on a plane is not a security concern - its a sanity concern.

We are fighting against an evil more great than terrorism - obnoxious people who want to loudly exclaim "i'm on a plane" to everyone they know - they must be stopped!

[JoshuaO @ Apr 7th 2008 9:55AM]

I see what you are saying and I was just saying that terrorists could use in attacks later on. I agree that it would bug the hell out of me if someone was on their cellphone. Now they may as well allow guns and knives on airplanes so you can stab the person next you for yapping on their phone! =P

[The New Guy @ Apr 7th 2008 9:21AM]

This is so not a good idea...

Why is it that these big businesses keep wanting to give us things we DON'T want and never give us anything we DO want.

I would appreciate it so much more if the CRTC opens up the cellphone market in Canada rather than try to get cell phones working on airplanes!!!

F'in Government!

[Rich UK @ Apr 7th 2008 9:37AM]

Lets all get ridiculously paranoid about the fact that, now cellphones are allowed on planes, we're all going to get killed. Its not like they're saying we're allowed explosives on there too... if a terroist wants a cellphone on a plane he'll (or she'll) take one on there, at low altitudes you can still get reception whether its illegal or not. Point is still whether or not he can get a bomb onboard.

So lets stop the hysteria, as for making cell call in flight, i wouldn't want to be sitting next to someone who insisted on using their cell all the time, its bad enough on a daily commute.

So I'm against! But for sociable reasons!

[Jeff @ Apr 7th 2008 9:39AM]

Swell. ::::eyes roll::::

[Christopher @ Apr 7th 2008 10:23AM]

Yay, hopefully soon I can use 3G data with my laptop while I travel ;) imagine that - you could surf youtube on a longhaul flight! Bollocks to the expensive in-flight PPV films :D

[Joe @ Apr 7th 2008 1:21PM]

No cell phones on airplanes!

[phanbouy @ Apr 7th 2008 1:46PM]

I'm sick of these muthafuckin phones on these muthafuckin planes!

[CarmenL @ Apr 7th 2008 8:00PM]

Oh come on, be real. So not only do we get trapped on planes for hours waiting in the queue but now we have to listen to some numbnut's entire conversation. Oh joy I can hardly wait to list to jr exec prove what a hotshot he really is.

[Pi @ Apr 8th 2008 7:47AM]

Regular Airline or Discount Airline?

Hmmm... let me decide...
Air France with someone on the phone OR Discount Airline without the luxury of an annoying person next to you AND you pay less.