International regulators are likely to follow in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s footsteps in loosening restrictions on the use of smartphones and other electronics during takeoff and landing.

Several airlines and an academic who has studied the issue say European and Asian regulators will probably relax their own similar rules that bar the use of phones, movie players, and laptops in the first and final stages of a plane’s flight.

Restrictions on calls and the use of data remain in place.

Joseph Lampel, an academic at London’s City University who has studied the issue, says American safety “is regarded as a gold standard” and that other air authorities are likely to follow suit.

Some airlines released statements Friday suggesting they expect American-style changes in their jurisdictions in the future.

(AP)