The FAA has issued a ban on a cappella singing on all domestic flights, the agency revealed in a press statement released Friday morning:

"There have been many instances of late of spontaneous a cappella performances igniting in public," the FAA said. "We have reports from YouTube, Instagram, SnapChat, and Farley Inc. (manufacturer of the electronic pitch pipes). In the interest of safety on all domestic flights inside the U.S., we have made the decision to enact this ban, with no exceptions."

FACE at the Airport

All major a cappella styles are reported to be complying with the recall and notifying their singers. The recall affects vocalists in all major styles of a cappella including barbershop, contemporary, doo-wop, and jazz, as well as others. Show choir is strangely still legal.

In the recent past, there have been a rash of viral videos of people bursting into a cappella singing on planes seemingly out of nowhere. It's unclear whether these serious instances of musical outpourings are premeditated or an impromptu occurrence.

Straight No Chaser on Southwest Airlines

Representatives from all the major U.S. airlines have commented in response to the recall that they will be strictly enforcing the ban.

"The comfort and safety of our passengers and customers is our top priority," said a flight attendant from Southwest, who requested to remain anonymous. "If there was an occurrence of spontaneous a cappella on one of our flights, we would handle it. I personally love the song 'Fix You,' but we're in the air. You can't get away from it, and maybe some of the passengers don't want to hear that right now." 

Woman Escorted Off Plane After Refusing To Cease Singing

This ban raises a big question for a cappella singers going forward: Where will they get their viral video opportunities? In total, one-third of the a cappella videos that have gone viral in 2017 were aviation outbursts.

Whatever the solution to these happenings, the FAA ban is a legitimate regulation, focused on the comfort and safety of all travelers.  

It looks like it's here to stay, and we will all have to adjust to these new, but maybe not friendlier, skies.

by Charlie Friday

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