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Just how important is it to you to be able to make a call while your plane is in the air? If you’re like most professionals who have to fly regularly for your job, the time on the plane is likely work time. But does it also need to be call time?

For years, the U.S. Department of Transportation has dictated what kind of communications activities could take place on a plane in flight. Now, the agency may be deciding to step back and allow the airlines to decide when and where travelers can make calls.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 that it would continue with its bid to overturn the current in-flight cellphone ban. Believe it or not, the ban has been in place for 22 years, preventing in-flight cell phone calls. If the FCC (News - Alert) moves this way, it’s possible the DOT may put its own ban in place.

No decisions need to be made right away, however, as the FCC ruling simply approves a year-long process that includes the opportunity for the public to comment on the ban, or lack thereof. Plus, both houses of Congress have something to say on the issue.

The key here is whether or not making voice calls on a plane will help your productivity or simply make it annoying that you have to listen to everyone else in their own conversations. As a frequent traveler, you may see this as a curse, and many reportedly do.

Aside from this potential annoyance, airlines would have to make substantial updates to their infrastructures to be able to handle voice over IP and other activities supporting voice calls. This will likely mean higher rates for everyone as smartphone users aren’t likely to ignore the opportunity to stay connected if it’s available in-flight.

So why the focus now when the ban seems to have worked so well for so long? It seems that foreign airlines are poised to extend services already being offered elsewhere. If the activities taking place overseas are any indication, the likelihood of permitting in-flight cellular calls may be very low.

Comments already coming in at publications throughout the world show that frequent travelers don’t want this access to be available, especially if it means higher ticket prices. Plus, the FCC has to determine whether or not allowing calls is fair to consumers or putting many of them at a disadvantage while traveling.

Of course, this debate is not completely unlike the one that surrounded access to WiFi (News - Alert) in the recent past. Users rallied around allowing the access while in-flight and for many, it solved a significant issue. Launching a voice call using VoIP via the WiFi connection could be an alternative, but it doesn’t solve the annoyance problem of 250 people on the phone talking at once.

Should this ban be lifted, allowing airlines to decide on their own and effectively allowing travelers to decide just how polite they will be in public? Given my experience in many a restaurant with the inconsiderate patron, I’d rather leave the phones off.