Europe OKs In

The skies are about to get a lot more tech-friendly over Europe.

The European Aviation Safety Agency on Friday issued new safety guidance allowing the use of portable electronic devices, such as cell phones and tablets, at any time during flights. Under the new guidelines, European airlines can now allow passengers to leave their electronics switched on throughout the flight, without the need to be in Airplane Mode.

That includes any kind of personal electronic device brought onboard - smartphones, tablets, laptops, e-readers, MP3 players, you name it.

'As a result, passengers will be able to use their [electronics] just like in any other mode of transport: throughout the trip,' the Cologne-based agency said. 'This is the latest regulatory step towards enabling the ability to offer 'gate-to-gate' telecommunication or Wi-Fi services.'

It will be up to each airline to decide whether to allow the use of electronics. Airlines will first need to go through an assessment process to ensure planes are not affected by signals from the electronics.

'For this reason, there may be differences among airlines whether and when [electronics] can be used,' the EASA said.

The move comes after the Federal Aviation Administration last October gave U.S. airlines permission to allow the use of electronic devices at all stages of a flight - including takeoff and landing, though they must be in airplane mode. Canada followed suit in May, and Australia adopted the more relaxed in-flight gadget rules in August.

Meanwhile, Microsoft this week announced that its Surface Pro 3 has been cleared by the FAA to serve as Electronic Flight Bags. This means the tablets can now replace the heavy paper-based flight kits containing navigational charts and aircraft reference materials that must be kept onboard airplanes. Delta last year deployed the Surface 2 to its 11,000 pilots as part of an effort to eliminate paper flight manuals.