MATTHEW L WALD Airline passengers can use electronic devices in all phases of flight if the airline determines that its aircraft can tolerate the interference,the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday,but using a cellphone will still be banned. The change will most likely take effect before the end of the year. Rules for cellphone use are set by the Federal Communications Commission,and unlikely to change soon. The administrator of the FAA,Michael P Huerta,said he expected that,with rare exceptions,airlines would allow the use of tablets,MP3 players and smartphones in airplane mode,with their cell network connections turned off. The airlines will have to conduct tests on their equipment and submit the results to the FAA for approval,he said. Soon after Huerta,Delta and JetBlue announced they will submit a plan for passengers to use electronics in flight. The change would not be universal,Huerta said. The rule banning use of personal electronic devices during some parts of the flight had been in use for 50 years,he said,and both the devices and airplane avionics had changed in that period.
