British Airways has revealed that from today, it is lifting the ban on turning on handheld electronic devices during taxiing, take-off and landing. With this announcement it becomes one of the first airlines in Europe to allow passengers to keep their devices switched-on throughout their journey.
This development comes following the announcement made by the European Aviation Safety Agency earlier this month, as reported by the Telegraph, allowing airlines to relax restrictions if they so wish. First to adopt the new ruling was Scandinavian Airlines which has already loosened its rules a few weeks back, shortly after the news was announced.
Passengers’ devices are allowed to operate during the flight if they are kept in 'flight safe mode', however even if your laptop has such a mode (mine does) the rule change still excludes them. Calls, text messaging and emails are still prohibited during the duration of the flight but travellers can now use their phones or tablets to watch films, read, play games and work as they please.
The BBC news asked an aviation industry professional what they thought of the ruling; "The easing of restrictions will provide an average of 30 minutes' additional personal screen time," commented Flight training manager of BA Ian Pringle. "With around 300 people on a long-haul flight that will mean a combined total of approximately 150 hours' extra viewing, reading or working," he added.
It is up to each airline whether or not to permit the use of handheld electronic devices on the aeroplane but due to the popularity of smartphones and tablets I'd guess most will follow BA's lead in the UK.
