A bipartisan bill known as the Quiet Skies Act has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, seeking to prohibit voice calls on commercial passenger flights at the federal level. If approved, federal regulators would be required to issue the necessary regulations within 180 days. The proposed ban would not apply to on-duty flight crews or law enforcement personnel.
At present, there is no federal law in the United States that specifically prohibits passengers from making voice calls during flights. Although the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 called for the development of such regulations, no implementing rule was ever issued. As a result, U.S. airlines currently prohibit in-flight voice calls through their own company policies.
The proposed legislation comes as satellite-based high-speed internet services have made voice and video calls over onboard Wi-Fi technically possible. While the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prohibits the use of cellular networks on aircraft, those rules do not apply to calls made over Wi-Fi.
In recent years, some airlines have begun allowing voice calls via onboard Wi-Fi. British Airways introduced the option on selected flights in April, while Emirates has offered a similar capability for some time.
The bill is currently under consideration by the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. If passed, the ban on in-flight voice calls would become part of federal law.
