Re: Ban the voice!
"It's about time that the myth was busted over safety concerns. If there was *EVER* the possibility that a PED could have downed an aircraft, they would *NEVER* have been permitted on board. They would have been confiscated at security."
But unlike other things, the PED has several factors that make wholesale confiscation thorny.
1. They're ubiquitous, meaning most passengers have them. The wholesale confiscation of something most passengers have can be ornerous, especially when...
2. They're not easily replaced. People grumble about the liquids bit, but that's offset because one can usually just resupply at their destination. About the only people who have a problem are those with large quantity of prescription fluids. In which case, they'll have to go into checked luggage. But...
3. They're sensitive to temperature extremes AND contain Lithium. Since there's no guarantee a luggage hold will be climate-controlled, the PED might be exposed to damaging temperature extremes and such. Furthermore, lithium is a fire risk (prone to spontaneous combustion), which is why it's banned in luggage holds (at least in a carry-on it can be pulled out in an emergency).
4. They're considered an essential accessory to many: a link back to base. Meaning if they can't take the PED, they're not going. That puts a financial pressure on the airlines catching them between Scylla and Charybdis. If they cave, the PED might down the plane, but if they don't, the lack of passengers might torpedo the business.