A proposal is pending to permit the use of cell phones in commercial airliners in flight.  This has to be one of the worst ideas to come along in a long time.  If we're going to ban smoking in public places for health reasons, we need to keep the ban on cell phone use in airplanes for mental health reasons.

Nearly everyone agrees that flying is not an especially pleasant experience.  We are crammed into a tiny space, we breathe stagnant air, and the food is abominable.  Everyone also knows how much more miserable a flight can be if the cabin contains a noisy child or a loud and talkative adult.  However, these individuals usually settle down after awhile.  Most passengers sleep or read, good ways to pass the otherwise unpleasant time.  Except for the drone of the engines, most flights are relatively quiet.

Given the addiction that people have developed to their cell phones, this last vestige of comfort will disappear if people are allowed to use their phones in flight.  Even if only a small percentage of the individuals on a flight take respite from the ennui of the trip by using their phones, the cabins will fill with load babble – and, trust me, it will be loud because few people speak into their phones in a normal tone of voice.  We will be subjected to the incessant half-conversations of dozens of people who are too dense to realize how annoying they are.

One of these individuals may well be the person in the next seat or directly across from, behind, or in front of where one is sitting.  We won't be able to say anything to the inconsiderate cretin because the individual will insist that yammering on the phone is his or her right.

We will become angry.  So far, incidents of "air rage" have been limited to an occasional argument over space in the overhead bins for storing carry-on baggage, usually prompted by some idiot who tried to carry on too much stuff or a bag that won't fit into the bin.  Permitting cell phone use on airplanes will increase this "air rage" exponentially.  We are usually not at our best in airplanes, considering the airport hassles, the anxiety that many flyers have, and the aforementioned discomforts of flight itself.  It doesn't take much to set someone off – and just one passenger who talks loudly and continuously about trivia on a cell phone (as many people are prone to do) could tip the balance.

Someone will shout at, or perhaps punch, someone else.  We all know where that can lead, especially in confined quarters with no way out.  After several such incidents, or perhaps after an airborne riot, some genius may suggest that it would be a good idea to ban the use of cell phones in flight.  Don't count on it, though.  Once people have this right, it will be very hard to revoke it and to enforce it if it is revoked.  Despite evidence that cell phone use while driving has contributed to accidents, including fatalities, and despite an increasing number of laws banning cell phone use while driving, people still engage in this reckless activity.

I don't want to be an "I told you so" on this issue.  I don't want to be on the flight where the first airborne riot breaks out.  Let's nip this insane idea in the bud.