We might not have to deal with those pesky warnings about turning off our tablets or e-readers on flights much longer. The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States may announce a more “lenient” policy on electronics usage later this year, with it taking effect sometime in early 2014.

The policy would relax the current rules on electronic devices during takeoff and landing, and allow for “reading devices” to be used. This most certainly puts tablets and e-readers into consideration, but cellphones are definitely not going to be included. The FAA has also commissioned a team composed of Amazon, Boeing, the CEA, FCC, and others to study the issues of in-flight electronics usage, and their findings will be released this July.

The policy change also has the support of lawmakers, with Senator Claire McCaskill telling The New York Times that  a “flying copy of ‘War and Peace’ is more dangerous than a Kindle.” My question for the senator would probably be, which Kindle?

A Kindle Fire HD to the face in high-altitude sounds pretty dangerous to me.

[via NYT, The Verge, image via Hideyuki KAMON]