The days of Alec Baldwin berating stewardesses for having the audacity to ask that he turn off his phone will soon be over as the FAA announced it is changing safety regulations to allow the use of electronics during the entire course of a flight, according to a press release issued this morning.

The implementation of this new rule will vary among airlines, but the FAA expects that most carriers will prove that their planes can handle portable electronic device usage -- albeit in airplane mode -- from gate to gate by the end of the year.

But once they are implemented, passengers will be able to read e-books, play games and watch videos with very few exceptions.

The FAA’s decision was based on input from a group of experts that includes “representatives from the airlines, aviation manufacturers, passengers, pilots, flight attendants and the mobile technology industry,” the release states.

Federal Aviation Administration