According to a notice issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Tuesday, domestic airlines can now make their own decision on whether to permit the use of personal electronic devices on domestic flights.

Hainan Airlines' flight HU778, which took off at 21:36 on Wednesday, was the first domestic flight that allowed passengers to use a PED onboard.

Hainan Airlines has announced that it will allow passengers to use PEDs, including cellphones switched to airplane mode, on all their Boeing 78, Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 planes.

China Eastern Airlines also announced on Wednesday that its passengers would be able to use cellphones, tablets, laptops and other portable electronic devices during flights starting on Thursday, but all phones have to be switched to flight mode.

Many foreign airlines allow the use of cellphones in flight mode, but before Wednesday passengers had to turn off their phones during domestic flights according to China's civil aviation regulations.