Flight attendants fight the FAA over in-flight electronic use

Some travelers jumped for joy last year when the FAA decided to allow smartphone, tablet and e-reader use during takeoffs and landings. But the Association of Flight Attendants – CWA, America’s largest flight attendants’ union, has filed a suit against the FAA asking for a “reset” to previous regulations, according to a report by the AP.

The nation’s largest flight attendants union says it wants airline passengers to return to stowing cellphones and other electronics during takeoffs and landings, but the group’s arguments didn’t seem to fly Friday in court. A lawyer for the union argued before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that aviation officials acted improperly last year in clearing passengers to use small electronics during takeoffs and landings. The union says the devices can distract passengers from safety announcements and become dangerous projectiles. The union also says that in letting passengers keep the devices out, the Federal Aviation Administration changed an agency regulation without steps required by law.