For Release: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661

HANG UP ACT PASSES TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

Washington - H.R. 5788, the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act (HANG UP), which would ban the in-flight use of cell phones on planes, today was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The bill was introduced by senior Committee members, Congressmen Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Jerry Costello (D-IL), John Duncan (R-TN), Thomas Petri (R-WI) and Commitee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN). The HANG UP Act is expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives in the fall.

While in-flight cell phone use is currently banned in the United States, the European Union has announced that it will allow cell phone use on all commercial airlines. H.R. 5788 would ensure that the ban would not be lifted, and would allow passengers to use text messaging, e-mail and the Internet as available. The legislation is supported by flight attendant organizations and public surveys indicate strong support for prohibiting cell phone use in-flight.

“This is an important bill for maintaining safety and civility in the skies,” said Costello, Chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee. “Just about everyone who flies has had to endure sitting next to someone pre-flight while they chatter loudly on their cell phone. Having to put up with this for several hours in-flight would not only be a tremendous nuisance, it would also pose a safety hazard. Flight attendants cannot give safety guidance if 50 people are talking on cell phones, and they should not have to referee passenger disturbances that stem from rude cell phone use. The HANG UP Act will ensure that we don’t get to that point.”

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