It is quite annoying when flight attendants ask passengers to power down all their electronic devices during takeoff. It is understood that cell phones transmit data which may interfere with frequencies needed by the plane. But if someone is reading a book or magazine on their iPad, Kindle, or other electronic reader without using wireless data, why should they be denied access to their books? Well, now it appears that dilemma will be a thing of the past. According to theatlanticwire.com:
“The Federal Aviation Administration relaxes its safety recommendations for electronics use during take-off and landing. Flyers will get to read ebooks, listen to podcasts, or do almost anything else possible on a Kindle or iPad without using WiFi or a data connection during those crucial flight periods. The outline of the FAA’s new plan was reported earlier this summer. But now, with almost certainty, it’s happening.
“The policy would apply ‘gate to gate,’ and would not include phone usage, which wasn’t up for consideration this round. The policy could go into effect faster than previously thought thanks to what is apparently a change of strategy by the FAA for the device approval process.”
This should come as pleasant news to ‘e-readers’ and tablet users who prefer their reading material in electronic form.
