Unofficial

created the regulation in 1991 to prevent interference with wireless networks on the ground.

But now technology apparently can limit that interference. So, the FCC has long contemplated loosening its rules, though it has yet to actually do so.

Meanwhile, even the current government restrictions don’t cover voice calls connected via Wi-Fi. That leaves a loophole for voice calls in the future.

Carriers such as Delta say they have no intention of allowing such calls.

“Delta in the past has not been in favor of allowing voice calls on board, and that position has not changed,” a spokeswoman for the carrier emailed me.

She also cited a 2013 memo from Delta’s then-CEO which said “Our customer research and direct feedback tell us that our frequent flyers believe voice calls in the cabin would be a disruption to the travel experience” and that “Delta employees, particularly our in-flight crews, have told us definitively that they are not in favor of voice calls onboard.”

Of course, the airlines haven’t always felt that way. For years their aircraft seatbacks were outfitted with phones for the few passengers willing to pay big calling fees.

Even if the airlines change their minds back again, I wonder if many passengers will want to make calls knowing that the ears of strangers are only inches away.

I frequently see people thumbing away on their smart phones in restaurants, but I can’t remember the last time I witnessed someone making a call at a table.

Only about 5 percent of U.S. adults think it’s OK to use a cellphone in a meeting, according to a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center. We have limits, probably based on propriety and self-preservation.

But all this stuff is up for interpretation. And views shift over time. About three-fourths of those surveyed are fine with using their cellphones on public transportation, according to Pew.

So while the airlines are holding fast so far, both Greyhound and Amtrak generally allow cell calls. (Though Amtrak offers a callfree Quiet Car on some trains.)

Kevin Bright, one of the folks I spoke with at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, told me he’s been on buses with phone callers around him.

“People,” he said, “don’t have any sense of themselves and how they affect other people.”