KEEP SKIES PHONE-CALL-FREE

We all have our own interpretations of what constitutes a real hell on Earth.

Holidays at the in-laws? Well, for some.

Or how about overtime between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders? That’s the NFL version of endless torture, for certain.

But, then, there is being stuck in that middle seat on a commercial airline flight. As most of us can appreciate, that can be a real hell — if not exactly on Earth, in the skies.

Well, it could be getting worse.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering liberalizing the ability of airline passengers to use elec- tronics in-flight, including permitting cellphone use once the craft is aloft.

Talk about slipping down into a lower level of Dis. Last week, the

observed that the FCC is considering the change because technical concerns about firing up electronics in-flight have abated over the years.

As to the social merits of allowing people to use their cellphones to speak with the earthbound, the wryly notes that the debate over “allowing people to make phone calls with a captive audience in the close confines of an airplane cabin promises to be vigorous.”

The most prominent argu- ment on behalf of this appalling idea is one we often have heard before: Many European countries already allow it; international flights now must turn off the service when they enter U.S. airspace.

Frankly, we don’t think our European friends have thought this one through.

It hardly is a mark of societal sophistication to invite already-harried airline passengers to listen in on one-half of a stranger’s phone conversation. The leg space is narrower. The food is non-existent. Costs are higher. Modern air travel is not what it used to be. Why are we so compelled to make it worse?

We are discovering that the most recent airborne electronic indulgence — WiFi use — is allowing passengers to surf their favorite online interests. Which, in many uncomfortable cases, has turned out to be porn.

Some airlines now are responding with porn-blockers. So, problem resolved? Maybe. But not exactly, as much of this communications combat in the skies seems to be missing the real point.

And that point is a matter of personal space.

Maintaining any semblance of personal space — a space that the individual defines as his or her own, however small — is difficult in an aluminum tube hurtling in space at 400 mph with 200 people on board. It is impossible when you are invited, against your will, to join in on half of your neighbor’s phone call — the adult iteration of the screaming baby.

This is no small matter. Modern commercial-airline flight burdens travelers not just with inconveniences, but with indignities that torment us even before we board. Why add to them?

Cellphone use in restaurants, even now, is judged rude. Servers still invite oblivious diners to take the call outside.

Perhaps flight attendants could do the same. If so, we may reconsider our view on this.