Angry Birds on a plane

The end of US restrictions on inflight gadgets probably means the same for Australia. Is that for the best?

Until recently, at least, takeoff and landing represented that rarest commodity in today’s world – a gadget-free zone in which a person had little choice but to sit back, think outside the glowing little box and, perhaps, take in the wonder of flight.

But seriously, who am I kidding? After shuffling through the demeaning rituals of airport security, jostling for space at the overhead bin and finding your way to your cramped seat, who’s in the mood for wonder? Not, it would seem, most US airline passengers, who have cheered (in some cases literally, according to reports) changes to Federal Aviation Administration restrictions on electronic gadget usage during flight. They may still be banned from carrying bottles of water or wearing their shoes through security, but as of November 1 Americans were free to use their devices from get-go to touchdown aboard most domestic flights, eliminating those disorienting 20 minute gaps in which they had previously been forced to disconnect from the collective.