Fliers Still Must Turn Off Devices, but Its Not Clear Why - NYTimes.com. What always amazes me about this ridiculous request to turn off electronic devices: if they were really so dangerous, why are they allowed on board? As the author correctly states in the article: the authorities panic over small bottles of hand lotion, but the electronic devices are waved through. Nevertheless, this completely ineffective request is repeated over and over again. Cargo cult security.