Originally Posted by sammyh25

It is becoming more and more of an issue as passengers openly disregard the crew's instructions regarding mobile phone usage. However safety services are adamant there is a risk to flight and the aircraft and as such we have to police it accordingly. Just because American carriers allow mobile use whilst engines are running does not necessarily mean it is 100% safe to do so.

Remember aviation safety is about minimising risk and not allowing chains of failure to develop.