Following in the footsteps of several other major U.S. airlines, United Airlines announced a new, relaxed cell-phone policy for its U.S. domestic arrivals.
Under the new policy, customers can use cell phones onboard United aircraft after the plane has landed and exited the runway. United’s previous policy, which allows customers to use cell phones while the plane is parked at the gate with the entry door open and during extended ground holds at the captain’s discretion, also is still in place.
“While we were not the first to institute this policy change, United undertook this effort with the goal of providing a single policy applicable to all of our existing fleet types,” said Peggy Dedo, vice president of engineering and technical support for United. “This required considerable testing, research and analysis of the interaction of cell phones with aircraft communication systems which, when completed, proved the policy change was safe.”
