FAA officials along with representatives from aviation manufacturing companies, pilot and flight attendant groups, airlines and mobile technology experts held their first meeting Tuesday to study FAA’s policies regulating use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) on commercial airline flights.
The agency’s current regulations require aircraft operators to determine that radio frequency interference from PEDs is not a flight safety risk prior to authorizing them for use during certain phases of flight.
The government-industry group used the first meeting to review public comments about FAA’s current PED policies. In August, the agency asked for public input about its current PED policies.
FAA has faced increasing public scrutiny from airline passengers and government officials about expanding the use of PEDs on commercial flights. In December, both FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wrote letters to FAA urging the expanded use of electronic devices during air travel. McCaskill, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said she would pursue legislative action if the agency did not move quickly on the issue. More
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