Starting from this afternoon, Qantas and Virgin travellers with somewhere to go, a podcast to listen to or one more level on Candy Crush to clear will be able to systematically ignore the person sitting next to them and plug away at personal electronic devices such us smartphones, tablets, MP3 players and laptops for the duration of the flight, so long as they’re in flight mode. The announcement comes less than 24 hours after both commercial airlines received approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to revise their in-flight safety policies.
The announcement closely follows the results of an independent aviation safety study released last October. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in America shared recommendations made by a 28-member panel of aviation experts with regard to the use of PEDs (Personal Electronic Devices, not the stuff that makes you run good), which found that the use of devices such as phones, music players and tablets posed no safety threat whatsoever, provided they were in flight mode.
The panel still endorsed restrictions on text messaging and web browsing during takeoff and landing but concluded that the vast majority of new generation aircraft had sufficient shielding to nullify the potential drawbacks of PED use like shrunken testicles.
Qantas Domestic Chief Executive Officer Lyell Strambi said the policy revision gave customers more freedom.
“We’re delighted to give Qantas customers the freedom and flexibility to use their personal electronic devices from the moment they board the plane until they disembark,” he said. “Whether customers choose to listen to music, read their e-books or review work documents the introduction of gate-to-gate electronic access on Qantas flights is an exciting development to an already exceptional inflight entertainment service.”
He also added: “Qantas has conducted rigorous testing to assess the impacts of electronic devices on the safe operation of aircraft. We are confident that these devices are safe to be turned on, but in flight mode, for the duration of each flight.”
So what’s changed? You’ll have to initiate ‘flight mode’ once aircraft doors are closed for departure, customers are required to secure handheld devices by holding them or placing them in a seat pocket during taxi, take-off and landing and larger items such as laptops will still need to be stowed during take-off and landing.
The future is now.
And now, a quick word from Louis CK.
