Will there be phone calls on the plane?

Many countries allow passengers to make phone calls and use electronic devices when the plane has landed, is taking off, or is taxiing on the runway before entering the terminal or parking lot...

Vietnam Aviation Administration will allow passengers to use mobile phones and portable electronic devices on planes - Photo: TTD

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAA) is asking international aviation technical experts and aircraft manufacturers to consider the possibility of allowing passengers to make phone calls on planes at certain times.

This is part of a project to enhance CAA's safety oversight capacity supported by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Use of electronic devices at certain times

According to CAA, allowing passengers to make phone calls and use electronic devices when the plane has landed, is taking off, or is taxiing on the runway before entering the terminal or parking lot has been applied by countries in Europe, the US, and some other countries.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the FAA have allowed passengers on flights to use phones and portable electronic devices at certain times since 2013.

For a long time, these two agencies have banned passengers from using phones and portable electronic devices during takeoff and landing as well as low-altitude flights for fear of affecting communication equipment between pilots and the ground.

However, with the advancement of science and technology today, aircraft and means of communication between pilots and the ground are no longer so controlled.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, Mr. Lai Xuan Thanh, Director of CAA, said that before CAA instructs airlines to allow passengers to make phone calls and use portable electronic devices, aviation technical experts and aircraft manufacturers must assess the possibility of affecting the safety of the aircraft: interfering with the aircraft's operating systems and equipment, causing difficulties for pilots in communicating with the ground...

These assessments will determine the current technological and technical level of the ground and airlines will have a basis to determine which types of aircraft can allow the use of phones and portable electronic devices and at what stage: taxiing on the runway preparing for take-off or just landing...

Will allow passengers to bring liquids on domestic flights

According to Mr. Thanh, in the third quarter of this year, FAA will continue to work with CAA to assess the CAA's ability to implement all issues related to safety management and supervision (the content of the project to improve aviation capacity supervision that FAA has supported CAA in the past).

Meanwhile, regarding the permission to carry liquids on domestic flights from May 1, Mr. Thanh said that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has asked countries to decide whether or not to allow large volumes of liquids on board, based on their assessment of security risks.

The CAA has reviewed the practice at airports and found that it could facilitate passengers travelling on domestic flights to carry liquids (contained in containers with a maximum capacity of 100ml) in their carry-on baggage.

However, each passenger is only allowed to carry no more than 1 liter of liquid (except gels and aerosols including medicines, food or milk for infants, special diet foods for medical treatment or liquids purchased at duty-free shops...) and must be kept in completely sealed bottles, glass jars or jars.

All bottles, jars, and containers of liquids carried by a passenger must be placed in a transparent plastic bag. Each passenger is allowed to carry only one plastic bag of liquids.

This regulation does not apply to international flights because ICAO still applies general regulations to all member countries.

According to Tuoi Tre