The legislationt directs the Department of Transportation to finally issue the rule banning in-flight voice calls that Congress required nearly eight years ago.
GBTA says the bill responds to a problem members have raised with growing urgency. New satellite connectivity from Starlink and similar networks has erased the bandwidth limits that once kept calls off planes, and more than 36 major airlines have now committed to the technology.
In April 2026, British Airways became the first major Western carrier to permit voice and video calls on equipped flights, expanding the policy fleetwide weeks later, including on transatlantic services to the United States. Qatar Airways and Emirates already allow calls. Without federal action, US carriers face mounting commercial pressure to follow.
‘Congress already settled the policy question,’ GBTA says in a statement. ‘The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018 directed the Department of Transportation (DOT) to prohibit voice communications on scheduled passenger flights, with exemptions for on-duty crew and federal law enforcement. The bill passed the House 398 to 23 and the Senate 93 to 6. The Quiet Skies Act is simple; it gives DOT 180 days to issue the final rule Congress already mandated.’
Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA says members manage travel for millions of employees.
‘They have been clear with us that the cabin should remain a place to work, rest and think, and not become a group phone booth for dozens of simultaneous private conversations at 35,000 feet. Congress directed this ban in 2018 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Quiet Skies Act simply tells the Department of Transportation to finish the job before a quiet cabin becomes a thing of the past.’
