McCaskill threatens legislation on airplane electronic device rules
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Tuesday to relax its rules for electronic device use on airplanes or face legislation from her forcing it to do so.
Context & Ripple Effects
McCaskill's threat lands a week after the FCC publicly urged the FAA to allow greater use of electronic devices during flights, turning what was an inter-agency nudge into explicit congressional pressure. The Missouri senator is giving the FAA a choice: relax the rules itself or face legislation compelling it to.
The push builds on a longer arc of doubt about the rules' technical basis — tests reported in late 2011 cast doubt on the FCC restrictions on Kindles and iPads — while the FAA has already certified iPads for American Airlines pilots in the cockpit across all phases of flight, replacing paper charts. The inconsistency the senator is exploiting: devices deemed safe next to pilots remain restricted in passengers' hands.
First-order effects
- The FAA faces simultaneous pressure from two parts of government — the FCC's December 6 letter and now a legislated deadline threat — narrowing its room to keep the current device rules unchanged.
- Airlines flying US routes get a clear signal that passenger gate-to-gate tablet and e-reader use is on the regulatory agenda, affecting cabin crew policies and pre-flight announcements.
Second-order effects
- Device makers and airlines gain leverage to push for aircraft-level certification rather than per-device testing, since the pilot-iPad approvals already established a precedent that the devices pose no interference risk in flight.
- If the FAA moves on non-transmitting devices, it sharpens the separate question of cellular voice calls, forcing the agency to draw a public line between reading a Kindle and making a call.
Third-order effects
- Sustained congressional involvement signals a structural shift in how aviation electronics rules are made — from conservative blanket restrictions justified by unproven interference claims toward evidence-based, category-by-category approvals.
- The pattern points toward a durable split in in-flight policy: relaxed rules for offline device use, while voice calls face their own distinct regulatory track.
The trend: US aviation regulators are being pushed by the FCC and Congress alike to replace blanket in-flight electronics bans with evidence-based rules, with device use and voice calls likely to be treated separately.