The fifth revision of the domestic "Rules for Qualified Validation of the Operation of Large Aircraft Public **** Air Transport Carriers", which came into effect on October 10, 2017, makes it clear that it is up to the air carriers to decide whether or not to open up the use of cell phones and other electronic devices on board.On January 16, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) published the "Guidelines for the Assessment of the Use of On-board Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs)" (referred to as: "the Guidelines").
The use of PEDs should be prohibited in the following special circumstances, except for EFBs (Electronic Flight Bags), which are recognized as necessary for flight safety: first, during the low visibility phase of the flight (Class II and III approaches and landings, and takeoffs in low visibility); and second, when the aircraft is suspected of being interfered with by PEDs.
The guidelines state that all PEDs (except for medical electronic devices such as pacemakers and portable oxygen concentrators) must be disabled when there is interference with onboard navigation and communication equipment or when the flight crew is instructed to do so in an emergency.
The Guide emphasizes that during the flight, when the captain finds that there is electronic interference and suspects that the interference comes from the portable electronic devices used by the crew on board, the captain and the captain's authorized personnel should be asked to turn off these portable electronic devices; if the situation is serious, it should be handed over to the ground public security authorities after the aircraft has landed, and reported to the CAAC afterwards.