Chinese travelers would soon be allowed to use their mobile phones on-board planes, giving way to wider in-flight connectivity that is now available in developed markets, Bloomberg reported.

According to Zhu Tao, director of the air transportation division at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, a policy to amend the limit of use of electronic devices on planes is currently in the works and could be imposed by the end of this year or early next year. The proposed amendment will allow Chinese plane passengers to access the Internet, use applications, and shop online with their smartphones.  

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For about 50 different Chinese airlines competing in the Chinese market, easing such rule will give e-commerce opportunities as they tap the China's newly rich's purchasing power, Macau Daily Times reported.

"From a business perspective, we definitely hope that there'll be a breakthrough in the policy review," Zhang Chi, China Eastern's deputy director, said. "While I let passengers browse the internet for free, I can at the same time profit from advertisement and on-board shopping. There will be a big positive return."

Currently, China's civil aviation rules require plane passengers to switch their mobile phones off for safety purposes. However, the use of other electronic devices like tablets are permitted as they do not disrupt the flights' radio signals.

Meanwhile, although several Chinese carriers are already providing in-flight Wi-Fi, the service is only made available to limited flyers on a first-come-first-served basis. For instance, China Eastern only accommodates the first 50 passengers who register to use the internet service for free, the rest of the flyers will be charged 258 yuan ($39) if they want to use the service.

In-flight e-commerce in the global market is set to reach $1.7 billion by 2020, up from $1.4 billion in 2015.

TagsMobile Phones, civil aviation policy, Civil Aviation Adminitration, China Airlines