Rules on air passengers’ use of mobile gadgets to be eased

Airline passengers who hate stowing away their cell phones and tablet computers before take-off and landing are about to get an early Christmas present from the country’s air safety regulator.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is preparing a new set of guidelines that would allow passengers possibly within the coming weeks uninterrupted use of their portable electronic gadgets during a flight, the agency’s deputy director general, John Andrews, told the Inquirer in an interview last week.

This is in line with moves by regulators in other jurisdictions as the industry shifts from a decades-long belief that electromagnetic signals emitted by portable gadgets could interfere with a plane’s equipment, like its navigation systems.

This means airline passengers would be allowed to send text messages, read their e-books or finish that troublesome level in Candy Crush Saga, even as the plane prepares for take-off, as long as the devices remain on “silent mode,” Andrews said.

Mobile phone calls, however, would continue to be banned as the added noise could potentially inconvenience other passengers, he noted.

Another restriction would be for those with “larger” devices like a laptop computer, which still needs to be stowed away during take-off and landing as it could injure passengers in case of an emergency.

The expanded use of gadgets differs drastically from the existing restrictions, which are about 50 years old. Under the current rules, passengers may use their gadgets onboard an aircraft until the doors are closed. Passengers may again use the devices after take-off and once the aircraft has reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. Devices need to be stowed away again as the plane makes its descent.

“In 25 years it has never been proven that [portable] devices and text messaging affect the electronic equipment of an aircraft,” Andrews said in the interview. “The rules were too stringent and this is something that is long overdue.

“CAAP is coming up with its own ruling on this and we are going to come out with a memo that will be published,” he added.

Asked about timing, Andrews said they would try to get the rules implemented within the year. The guidelines, he noted, still need to be finalized and airlines would need to be consulted.

CAAP would come up only with the rules and the implementation for the liberalized use of gadgets which would still be left to the individual air carriers, Andrews said.

Airline officials declined to comment on the planned move by CAAP, saying they would need to see the finalized memorandum first before weighing in.

Nevertheless, some observers noted that while the eased rules would aid in passenger convenience, the details were crucial and need to be scrutinized.

One aspect was the size threshold for laptops or tablet computers. This could give rise to potential arguments as to why one device  needs to be stowed away while another does not, an observer said.

CAAP also needs to explain clearly how using devices onboard did not pose any risk to safety, given the decades that airline passengers have been subjected to these beliefs.

This, however, was partly explained by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which released its guidelines for the expanded use of portable electronic devices, or PEDs, last Oct. 31. The FAA noted that the PED Aviation Rulemaking Committee  “concluded most commercial airplanes can tolerate radio interference signals from PEDs.

“Once an airline verifies the tolerance of its fleet, it can allow passengers to use handheld, lightweight electronic devices—such as tablets, e-readers and smartphones—at all altitudes,” the FAA added.