Narrative:

Exactly what size device can be kept out during taxi and takeoff? We used to say ipads; kindles; and phones but now the ipads have gotten larger. Our announcements say 'hand held.' not 'hands' held. The [company] magazine only says 'small'; lightweight devices under 2 lbs. It is getting out of control. I was verbally abused again by a passenger today. As I tried to calmly explain to him what the restrictions were; he kept stating that no one has ever told him this. (He has been flying 3 years with the same large ipad -13x11- and never had anyone tell him to stow it). He continued to tell me that maybe everyone needs to be trained. Consistency is more important. I explained that electronic devices have changed dramatically over the last 5 years. Some flight attendants just don't want to hear it from people like him. I was abused. Several passengers apologized for his behavior. Our manual indicates peds should be small. What is small? Apple ipads are acceptable. What size apple ipad? Ipads can be 8x10 inches or larger. Is that too big? If not; why does a laptop have to be stowed? I've written [a report] before on this and received no guidance. At this point; we should restrict electronic devices size to a phone. That's it. People shouldn't be hooked up and unable to hear us anyway.direction on what must be stowed or not needs to be concise and not left up to the flight attendant's discretion. Passengers need to know what the exact limits are. If not; we will continue to confuse and anger the very people we are trying to keep flying with us.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier Flight Attendant reported confusion about the size of device that should be allowed to be out during taxi and takeoff.

Narrative: Exactly what size device can be kept out during taxi and takeoff? We used to say iPads; Kindles; and phones but now the iPads have gotten larger. Our announcements say 'hand held.' Not 'hands' held. The [company] magazine only says 'small'; lightweight devices under 2 lbs. It is getting out of control. I was verbally abused again by a passenger today. As I tried to calmly explain to him what the restrictions were; he kept stating that no one has ever told him this. (He has been flying 3 years with the same large iPad -13x11- and never had anyone tell him to stow it). He continued to tell me that maybe everyone needs to be trained. Consistency is more important. I explained that electronic devices have changed dramatically over the last 5 years. Some Flight Attendants just don't want to hear it from people like him. I was abused. Several passengers apologized for his behavior. Our Manual indicates PEDs should be small. What is small? Apple iPads are acceptable. What size apple iPad? iPads can be 8x10 inches or larger. Is that too big? If not; why does a laptop have to be stowed? I've written [a report] before on this and received no guidance. At this point; we should restrict electronic devices size to a phone. That's it. People shouldn't be hooked up and unable to hear us anyway.Direction on what must be stowed or not needs to be concise and not left up to the Flight Attendant's discretion. Passengers need to know what the exact limits are. If not; we will continue to confuse and anger the very people we are trying to keep flying with us.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.