Qantas and Virgin Australia passengers are to be allowed to use smartphones and other electronic devices during flights from today, but they won’t be able to make phone calls or send or receive messages.
The new rule applies to international and domestic passengers.
It applies to tablets, e-readers and small game consoles as well as mobile phones, which passengers were previously asked to switch off during flights for safety reasons.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia approved applications from the two airlines yesterday for passengers to be allowed to continue to use their devices in-flight. Other airlines in Europe, the US and New Zealand had already taken this step.
The new rule for the Australian airlines means passengers can continue to play games or draft emails on their phones while airborne, providing they place their devices in flight mode.
