The US is relaxing its rules to allow air passengers to listen to music, play video games and watch films on their phones and tablets during takeoffs and landings. The change allowing the use of electronic devices from gate-to-gate will not, however, extend to making mobile phone calls during flights. Connections to the internet to surf, exchange emails, text or download data will also still be banned below 10,000 feet and heavier devices like laptops will have to be stowed. Passengers will be told to switch their smartphones, tablets and other devices to airplane mode. The US Federal Aviation Authority confirmed the move last night, although it will be up to individual airlines to decide how soon to meet the new criteria. The change will mean that on transatlantic flights British passengers will be able to use their gadgets as they land on American soil. However, when they take off from Britain they will not be able to do so. Under rules drawn up by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, electronic devices cannot be used during taxi, takeoff and landing on all fights entering or leaving British airspace. However the rules could also change in Britain and across the world if the American research is shown to be credible. An American travel industry group welcomed the changes yesterday, calling them common-sense accommodations for a traveling public now bristling with technology. ‘We’re pleased the FAA recognizes that an enjoyable passenger experience is not incompatible with safety and security,” said Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. Air safety officials backed the changes after agreeing that the electronic gadgets do not interfere with navigation systems and that data used to draw up the ban - typically imposed in aircraft across the world - was from back in the 1960s when such devices were very different. Phones are excluded in the rule change because they were not involved in the FAA research, although safety officials are now expected to look at this issue separately. The original rules in the US were written in 1966 when it was thought that electromagnetic interference from computers and other devices could cause problems with navigation systems on board the plane. Nowadays passenger jets are ‘much more tolerant’ to such interference and the gadgets themselves are much safer. The report says that this is because they use less power, transmit weaker signals and ‘stay within a tighter range of frequencies’. One key factor behind the US decision has been the sheer number of air passengers ignoring the rules. One survey found that, by accident or on purpose, one third of passengers had left their gadgets on when they should be turned off. The CAA in the UK is said to be ‘monitoring’ the situation. |
據(jù)英國媒體11月1日報(bào)道,美國聯(lián)邦航空局(FAA)日前出臺新規(guī)定,航空乘客獲準(zhǔn)用手機(jī)或平板電腦聽音樂、玩游戲及看電影,但需要調(diào)到“飛行模式”。不過乘客在整個(gè)飛行過程中仍將被禁止打電話。 飛機(jī)在1萬英尺(約合3000米)以下的高空時(shí)仍不允許上網(wǎng)、收發(fā)電郵或短信、以及下載數(shù)據(jù),而且筆記本電腦等比較重的電子設(shè)備必須收起來。 盡管新規(guī)定得到美國聯(lián)邦航空局的證實(shí),但局長邁克爾?韋爾塔稱,新規(guī)推行時(shí)間還要由各個(gè)航空公司自行決定。 對于乘坐跨大西洋航班的英國乘客來說,新規(guī)意味著,他們可以在抵達(dá)美國領(lǐng)土?xí)r在飛機(jī)上使用電子設(shè)備,而從英國領(lǐng)土起飛時(shí)不可以這樣做。 根據(jù)英國民航管理局的規(guī)定,在飛機(jī)起飛和降落時(shí)均不可以使用電子設(shè)備。如果美國的新規(guī)證明是可行的,那么英國、甚至全世界都可能改變相應(yīng)的航空規(guī)定。 美國旅游協(xié)會對新規(guī)表示歡迎,認(rèn)為這樣調(diào)整符合常識。“我們很高興美國聯(lián)邦航空局認(rèn)識到一次愉快的旅途與飛行安全并非不相容?!痹搮f(xié)會的首席執(zhí)行官羅杰?道說。 一些航空安全官員認(rèn)為電子產(chǎn)品不干擾導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng),因此支持更改規(guī)定。之前對電子產(chǎn)品的禁令是根據(jù)上世紀(jì)60年代的數(shù)據(jù)制定的,當(dāng)時(shí)的設(shè)備與如今的產(chǎn)品完全不同。研究報(bào)告顯示,現(xiàn)代的電子設(shè)備耗電量較低,傳輸信號較弱,頻率范圍更小。 解禁的另一個(gè)主要原因是,很多乘客實(shí)際上忽視禁止規(guī)定。一份調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),三分之一的乘客在電子設(shè)備應(yīng)該關(guān)閉時(shí)仍然讓它們保持打開的狀態(tài)。 相關(guān)閱讀 挪威商店萬圣節(jié)惡作劇 把假人肢體放在冷凍區(qū)嚇壞顧客 (譯者 maxx 編輯 Julie) |