Flight Attendants Want Games Banned During Takeoff Again

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Union argues that personal electronics can become dangerous during turbulence and distract people from listening to important safety instructions.

 

 

A prominent United States flight attendants union recently argued in court for an effective reversal of thegovernment's new rules that allow people to use their electronics--including video game systems like the3DS and PlayStation Vita--during all phases of flight.

The Associated Press and Wall Street Journal report that that the Association of Flight Attendants CWA wants the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reverse its guidelines and has even sued the government agency. They argue that small electronics can become projectiles during turbulence, and that people pay less attention to important safety announcements when they are distracted by such devices.

A lawyer for the US government said in court that cellphones and other, similar devices aren't any more dangerous than books or other reading materials that passengers have always been allowed to keep out during all stages of flight.

The union's lawyer, Amanda Dure, said during court proceedings that the FAA, in enacting the new rules, violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act. This requires government agencies such as the FAA to give public notice about major policy changes; this did not happen as it should have in the case of the FAA's relaxed electronics rules, Dure said. The government disagrees, saying that in fact, it considered around 1,000 responses to the new rules, including one from the flight attendants' union.

In October 2013, the FAA announced the new rules, which allowed for expanded passenger use of portable electronics during takeoffs and landings. Previously, you had to turn off a stow such devices.

 

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