Still on contentious issues, we hear that the European Aviation Safety Agency has approved the use of mobile phones on board commercial aircraft, just months after the FAA in the US announced that it would continue its ban on cellphones. Previous condemnations of the use of cell phones on board aircraft by yours truly have apparently not reached the desks of the EASA folks, or perhaps the bureaucrats are too dumb to listen to ordinary long-distance travellers, who are already agonising over the prospect of sitting next to loud and rude cell phone users at 35,000 ft with no possibilityof escape.

In a recent letter to the editor of the Herald Tribune, a Mr Mott from Germany wondered if the EASA felt that “travellers weren’t suffering enough agony battling gridlock to get to the airport and enduring hours of gruesome ritual to get on board.” Thanking the EASA for its incredulous decision, Mott added that he would take the train or boat next time. We must admit, it is an option, but not a very practical one for the millions of business travellers who appreciate the relative peace and quietude once aloft.