Poll: Voters support ban on in-flight calls

A broad majority in a new poll believes cellphone calls should continue to be restricted on airplanes.

A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday found 59 percent of registered voters think calls should not be allowed, while 30 percent support the potential change to allow cell calls. Another 10 percent did not respond. 

{mosads}A majority of every major demographic opposes calls on airlines. Young adults aged 18-29 are most open to the change, but even 52 percent of that group opposes the change. 

Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill also oppose the change and have introduced legislation to keep the ban in place. 

The Federal Communications Commission has said it would look into the change after it moved to allow passengers to use their phones for texts and emails during flights. 

The announcement that the FCC would look into allowing calls as well was met with a barrage of angry comments and proposed legislation in the House and Senate. 

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) in the House and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in the Senate have offered legislation in their respective chambers to uphold the ban. 

The FCC is planning on voting Thursday on whether to accept public comment on the proposal. It said it is looking at the proposal from a safety standpoint, rather than policing behavior. 

“If passengers are going to be forced to listen to the gossip in the aisle seat, it’s going to make for a very long flight,” Schuster said in a statement this week. 

Both Republicans seem to be following popular opinion in their party. Fifty-sex percent of the GOP would oppose in-flight calls, while 32 would support it. 

The poll surveyed 2,692 voters and has a 1.9 percent margin of error.