British Airways now allows electronics use during takeoff and landing
Following the wave of US airlines that changed policy after the FAA reassessed the rules, British Airways is letting passengers keep their electronic devices switched on for the entirety of their flight. According to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority, there's still no text and no calls allowed, and Brits will still be ordered to put wireless devices into flight mode, although the changes (which start today) apparently don't include laptops. "The easing of restrictions will provide an average of 30 minutes additional personal screen time," according to BA's flight training manager, Captain Ian Pringle -- enough time for half an episode of The Great British Bake Off, then. And expect more airlines to follow suit: the European Aviation Safety Agency announced earlier this month that airlines are able to introduce such changes, subject to their own assessments.
Update: It's actually not the first. Apparently Scandinavian Airlines started allowing tablet and smartphone during takeoff and landing when the European Aviation Safety Agency made their announcement a few weeks back. We've updated the post to reflect this.
[Thanks to everyone that sent in the news that the Scandinavians got there first!]
