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Tuesday 2 April 2013

Tablet and E Reader take off and landing rules to be abolished?

In a recent study commissioned by the FAA (The Federal Aviation Administration) the thorny issue of passenger electronics was investigated. We've all had experience of having to switch off our e-readers, tablets and phones before take off and landing, even though many have flight mode enabled (the sole reason for having it there in the first place) and wi-fi and Bluetooth switched off too.

It seems the results indicate tablets and e-readers show no obvious interference with aircraft systems, and the FAA is seriously looking at allowing these devices to be used, by the end of 2013. Phones however, are still considered  to be a threat.

This does seem perfectly logical, after all pilots use iPads themselves in the cockpit, so it makes sense we should be allowed to carry on reading or playing games during take off and landing.
But this does beg the question about portable phones anyway. I know there has been the odd time when I have mistakenly left my phone switched on in my jacket stowed in the bin above and survived to tell the tale. I've also seen many passengers simply ignore the rules and leave them on anyway.
I'm sure if we were told that doing this would lead to our demise, no one would attempt to argue with impending doom, but there is simply no stringency in this area, with many flight attendants just giving a cursory check as they walk down the aisles.

There must be firm guidelines and this study is a welcome move in the right direction.

Let's just hope the rest of the world follows the FAA's example.

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