RYANAIR passengers will no longer be required to switch off their mobile phones during their flight.
The budget airline announced that all customers will be able to use portable electronic devices throughout the duration of their flight across all of its planes, including tablets, MP3 players, smartphones and e-readers.
Passengers will, however, have to switch their devices to flight mode or ‘airplane mode’ and would still need to follow the safety briefings regarding their use.
In a statement Ryanair said: “The IAA [Irish Aviation Authority] is one of the first regulatory authorities in the world to approve this measure and we wish to commend them for their initiative.
“We are working hard to improve our service to all customers and today’s PED approval is the latest in a series of changes which we know our customers will love.”
The decision follows a ruling from the European Aviation Safety Agency last November, approving the use of such devices during take-off and landing.
Aer Lingus have not yet followed Ryan Air’s decision and a spokesperson said: “We are at an advanced stage of our approvals process regarding the use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) and will be announcing a change to the policy shortly.”
