The speculation surrounding the FAA possible loosen restrictions on the use of electronics on aircraft hit a new high on Wednesday when the administrator of the FAA was grilled by a Senate Committee.
Senators have their own personal stake in the issue as they are as much of a group of road warriors as some business folks. They constantly are traveling from their home states to Washington and that often means flights on every Tuesday and Thursday night like clockwork. Their staff knows the schedule of every flight combination going out of DCA on Thursday evenings. So it's fair to say they spend lots of time up in the air and are just as frustrated as the rest of us that you can't use electronics on certain portions of the flight.
One of the Senators that has been a leading force in grilling the FAA on this is Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) who asked FAA Administrator Michael Huerta why the ban was still in place when passengers use gadgets on planes all the time with no harm done. It's widely known in DC the ultimate first class flight, on Air Force One, features staffers tapping away at their blackberries for all of the flight.
This led to my favorite quote from the USA Today article on the hearing, "If it's safe enough for the president of the United States, it's safe enough for the flying public," McCaskill said.
Administrator Huerta indicated that an FAA Advisory Committee that was convened to study the issue is expected to issue their recommendations to him in July. Until then...it's all electronics off and put away below 10,000 feet.
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