FCC: Shut Up and Fly

Chatty frequent-flyers were disappointed yesterday, as the Federal Communications Commission refused to lift its ban on cell phone use during flight. The two-year old proposal had prompted a massive outpouring from airline customers who called  airborne conversation  "a recipe for a lot of anger" and "torture."

The FCC rejected the change on technical grounds, arguing that it didn't yet know whether cell phone use in the air would affect service on the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration, which has been reviewing a similar proposal,  bans in-air cell phone use separately, for fear it will interfere with the electronic flight equipment. (More cell phones stories.)