A Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel investigating whether to ease restrictions on personal electronic device use during flight is expected to recommend relaxing the ban but has delayed the release of its final report until late September.
Comprised of representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, pilot and flight attendant groups, airlines and industry affiliates, the advisory panel was scheduled to conclude its investigation by July 31, but has been granted a two-month extension by the FAA to continue examining whether the use of electronic and Wi-Fi-enabled devices could interfere with critical flight equipment and endanger passenger safety.
“The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft. That is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions,” the FAA said in a statement. “We will wait for the group to finish its work.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, who first reported news of the draft report, the panel hopes to allow “gate-to-gate” use of electronics, meaning that devices could be left on in a limited airplane mode during use taxiing, take off and landing. Under current FAA guidelines that date to 2006, passengers are required to turn off their electronics for takeoff and landing to prevent interference with aircraft systems. The draft document reportedly states that modern aircraft are more tolerant of interference and that personal devices emit weaker signals.
However, panelists remained concerned about the use of electronics during landing and plan to investigate further during the two-month extension.
The panel is not examining any policy change on the use of cell phones in flight, which will remain banned by the FCC.
Despite the extension on the release of a final ruling, some airlines are already electing to allow airplane passengers wider use of electronics. British Airways announced last week that it will allow customers to turn on their mobile phones and other handheld electronic devices after landing. Previously, passengers were required to wait to turn on their devices until the aircraft was docked at the gate.
A growing number of airlines have also announced that pilots will be provided with tablet computers to replace bulky paper navigation charts and manuals. While the tablets will not be wireless-enabled, several airlines said that linking pilots to the Internet—provided that access to Wi-Fi is determined to pose no interference threat—is the long-term goal, according to the Wall Street Journal. Among other benefits, Wi-Fi-enabled tablets could provide real-time weather updates to pilots and assist with route planning.
