Fasten your seatbelts and no cell phones please

Overhead "no smoking" signs will be replaced by "no cell phone" signs on some planes next year when technology is introduced to make it safe for passengers to use mobile phones mid-flight. Airlines are seeking ways to police potentially annoying on-board phone chat via symbols of a mobile phone crossed out, forcing passengers to switch off during take-off and designated "night" periods. The company developing the satellite technology for Airbus (EADS.PA) planes also said cabin crew would be able to remotely switch off phones or disable their voice function, allowing travelers to just use text messaging and email during quiet times. "It is envisaged that airlines will turn the voice capability off, for example on long-haul flight during the plane's night'," a spokesman for communications joint venture OnAir said. "Each airline is likely to develop different protocols for the use of mobile devices, in much the same way that different protocols have developed in different countries...