Congress orders DOT to finally ban cell phone calls on planes
H.R. 9530 — Quiet Skies Act · Filed by Hillary Scholten (D-MI) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 29, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations within 180 days prohibiting passengers from making voice calls on cell phones during commercial airline flights. It directs the DOT to enforce an existing statutory requirement (49 U.S.C. § 41725) that was previously unenforced, giving ordinary airline passengers a quieter flight experience by banning in-flight phone calls.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a straightforward directive to enforce an existing statutory prohibition on in-flight cell phone voice calls. It is not deregulation, not a carve-out, and not a subsidy—it is a mandate to the executive branch to do what Congress already required in law.
What the text implies
- The bill assumes 49 U.S.C. § 41725 exists and contains a prohibition on in-flight cell voice calls; if that statute does not contain such a prohibition or is narrower than assumed, the rule may not achieve the stated goal.
- The 180-day deadline is a hard enforcement trigger—if DOT misses it or issues a rule that is later challenged, litigation could delay implementation.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who it affects
Ordinary airline passengers benefit from a quieter, less disruptive flight environment. The bill enforces an existing statutory mandate that has languished unenforced, restoring a protection that Congress already intended but the executive branch has not implemented.