AviationFAA may allow use of electronic devices on flights

Published 13 May 2013

The Federal Aviation Administration may announce by the end of the year that it would relax the rules for Kindles, iPads, and other e-readers. Lawmakers say that since the FAA allows iPads as flight manuals in the cockpit, and flight attendants use the devices for information on flight procedures, it makes no sense not to allow passengers to use the devices.

The Federal Aviation Administrationmay announce by the end of the year that it would relax the rules for Kindles, iPads, and other e-readers.

The New York Times reportsthat the news comes from an industry working group that the FAA set up last year to study the impact of electronic devices on planes. One member of the group and an FAA official said the agency has been under pressure either to let people use reading devices on plane or show solid evidence why they cannot. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The group, which first met in January, includes people from various industries, including Amazon, the Consumer Electronics Association(CEA), Boeing, the Association of Flight Attendants(AFA), the Federal Communications Commission(FCC), and aircraft makers to report on the issue and they will present their findings before the end of July.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D- Missouri) told the Times that she planned to introduce legislation to hold the group accountable.

McCaskill said that she was frustrated to discover that the FAA allows iPads as flight manuals in the cockpit, and that flight attendants use the devices for information on flight procedures.

“So it’s O.K. to have iPads in the cockpit; it’s O.K. for flight attendants — and they are not in a panic — yet it’s not O.K. for the traveling public,” McCaskill said. “A flying copy of ‘War and Peace’ is more dangerous than a Kindle.”

Earlier this month, McCaskill met with Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC to discuss the rule. After the meeting, McCaskill told reporters, “The idea that in-flight use of electronic devices for things like reading a book poses a threat to the safety of airline passengers is baseless and outdated.”

As technology advances and computers get smaller, the issues is only going to grow in importance, and McCaskill would like to create legislation to get ahead of the curve.

“We’re going to start drafting legislation that would dictate these changes,” McCaskill told the Times, adding that the F.A.A. was moving too slowly. She said she was meeting with various parties and corralling bipartisan support for action in Congress. “Let’s hope it’s not necessary, but I will be looking for vehicles to get this changed.”