<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by feitefrank:
who cares if someone gets up and/or use their cell-phone? the plane is on the friggin ground and moving very slowly if at all. safety has nothing to do with this, and it's refreshing to see common sense prevail once in a while..! </font>
I care about the use of cell phones on planes. I've experienced at first hand the feedback that is heard in the cockpit headsets when a cell phone is used. It's very difficult for the pilots to hear radio transmissions. Instructions from ATC could be mis-heard, for example, an instruction to land and hold short, which could result in a runway incursion and possible collision with another aircraft. That's why the no cell phones on the ground rule primarily exists. Besides, is your call to say "I'm on the ground, waiting for a gate" really
that urgent? I prefer to enjoy the sanctity of the phone-free aircraft cabin for a few minutes longer.....