Please Turn Off And Put Away All Electronic Devices

Electronics are the bane of a flight attendant's existence.  How many times a day do I say, "Can you power that down?" "Please power that down." "We can't leave the gate until you turn that off." "Sir, I'm going to need you to power that completely down." It's gotta be a million...no...a million and one.  And if you turn it on before you are suppose to, or you tell us your headphones are "off," or you text under your leg, or your laptop fan is still running under the seat....we know!! We are not stupid, we know.  

So imagine my surprise when I read on the news lately that the FAA is considering allowing the use of electronic devices during takeoff!  Will it make my job easier? Absolutely.  Will it egress the ease and timely manner that we take off?  Of course.  Is it safe for all passengers to use electronic devices during takeoff?  Absolutely not.  

The majority of all airplane accidents happen during taxi, takeoff, and landing.  The most recent being San Francisco bound Asiana airline that crashed during landing today.  Prime example.  If those passengers had been preoccupied with movies on their iPads, texting as we reenter cell phone service zones, or jamming to the newest tunes on their iPods...they wouldn't be alert and conscious of what's really going on around them.  They wouldn't be able to hear the captain or flight attendant as they make announcements of what's going on or directions for an emergency landing.  

Granted, they wouldn't lift the ban on all electronic devices, just some (which then begins the question of where do you draw the line...).  As of now, we require that any device with and on/off power switch be powered down...including kindles and e-readers.  Does an electronic device create interference with air traffic control?  Directly, no...but it does create a buzzing in the captain's headset.  Too much buzzing = not being able to hear air traffic control.  

It would make my job easier, sure.  But if we did have to make an emergency landing and half the cabin wasn't paying attention, or after landing a million devices began launching into the cabin hitting other passengers over the head....just another thing to have to worry about during landing.  It's just not good!  I would rather tell passengers a million more times to turn those blasted electronic devices off, than have the risks of having them out and on.  

So when your flight attendant asks you to put on your seatbelt, put your bags under the seat in front of you, and TURN OFF the electronic devices....DO IT!  We don't just ask you to do those things for fun or to see who does it and who doesn't....we do it for YOUR safety.  So that in the million and one chance that your plane does have to make an emergency landing because something drastically wrong happens....you will be as safe as possible!! 

So pay attention to your surroundings and fly safe!