India: Air Travelers Can Now Use Mobile Device On Airplane Mode At All Phases Of Flight

By M.Saraswathi NEW DELHI, April 24 (Bernama) -- The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to allow the use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) including cellphones on airplane mode at all phases of a flight. "The use of PEDs shall be in the non-transmitting mode commonly called flight/airplane mode," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. Besides directing all operators to report any suspected or confirmed PED interference or smoke or fire caused by PEDs to the DGCA, it also laid down guidelines for crew training. The scheduled operators, during their meeting on April 17 with the Director-General Civil Aviation, raised the demand for allowing the use of PEDs during all phases of flight in the flight/airplane mode. The DGCA examined their demand in view of the new and current regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Under the FAA and the EASA Regulations, the use of PEDs is allowed in the airplane mode in all phases of flight, it said. -- BERNAMA