As it currently stands, passengers on commercial flights are required to shut down their electronic devices before takeoff and landing. The airlines say that these devices may cause interference with the avionics of the aircraft. There’s no concrete proof of that actually happening, which is primarily the reason why this restriction is criticized a lot. If all goes on well, the FAA may remove this restriction altogether by the end of this year. Do note that the restriction would still apply on cellphones. Relaxation in the rule will allow users to continue using tablets such as iPads and e-readers such as Kindles during takeoff and landing, albeit in airplane mode.
People close to the matter have said that the FAA is under quite a lot of pressure to remove the reading device restriction on passengers. The industry working group has several objectives which include that flight attendants don’t be the judge of what devices are covered under the restriction and what exactly does airplane mode mean. Moreover the new rules that FAA will formulate shall apply to devices that are not available in the market at this point in time. Would you welcome the removal of this restriction, or do you really believe that such devices should certainly be kept off during takeoff and landing?