Tablets Are Go!

Electronic Gadgets Will Be Allowed During Flight Takeoff & Landing

Media reports confirm that a federal advisory committee has prepared a report for American Federal Aviation Administration, saying that flights can handle switched-on gadgets at all times, including takeoff and landing. This is true about the devices not connected to the web.
In case the suggestion is approved, the passengers will be able to enjoy their ebooks, music players and other devices during takeoff and landings. The above mentioned report, commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration, recommends testing transmission tolerance on older aircraft. As for the newer aircraft types, they will be considered safe for electronic transmissions.

According to the industry officials, the suggestions could be approved as early as the end of 2013. The aircraft types able to tolerate electronic transmissions are already in use, some of them fitted out with picocells for in flight phone calls. In case a plane already has a picocell, it means that it has already been evaluated to have electronic devices for all phases of flight. Such aircrafts are Airbus 330 300s and Boeing 747 400s, for example.

However, the report still doesn’t recommend using mobile or Wi-Fi connections below 10,000 feet. While tablets and e-readers can be allowed for use during takeoffs and landings, larger laptops are expected to be stowed away. Amazon, which has one employee on the committee, claimed that the report was a “big win for customers”.

Delta Airlines recently announced that its pilots will be given Windows Surface 2 tablets for their electronic flight bags. The kit will be given to pilots of Boeing 757 and 767, with more to come in 2014.