US aviation officials are considering easing restrictions on the use of personal electronics like smartphones, laptop computers and e-readers aboard planes.
An advisory panel is meeting to finalise its recommendations for the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of this month.
"The FAA recognises consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft," a spokesman said in an email to Agence France-Presse.
"That is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions."
Under current regulations, passengers are barred from using portable electronics for the entire flight, and are typically asked to turn off these devices for takeoff and landing.
The ban on sending and receiving emails, making calls and using wi-fi is based on concerns that the communications might interfere with a plane's navigation systems.
Experts say many of these concerns are outdated, particularly since the FAA last year allowed airlines to replace paper flight manuals in the cockpit with tablet computers.
Phone calls aboard planes are banned by a separate entity, the Federal Communications Commission, and would not be subject to change by the FAA.
