This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Are you eager to chatter away on your cell phone at 35,000 feet in the air or listen to your seatmate do the same? Not so fast. More Americans oppose this idea than support it, according to a survey released last week by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The numbers, based on a survey taken in November: 45.2 percent of U.S. residents surveyed think cell phones should definitely or probably be barred from cabins, 39.7 percent think they¹re definitely or probably OK if they don¹t interfere with aircraft communications and 15 percent aren¹t sure.
Like it or not, several foreign airlines are moving to equip their planes for cell phone use. U.S. flights are a different story, because government regulators, saying cell phones might interfere with ground or air communications, are balking at giving the go-ahead.
- Jane Engle
