Passengers of British Airways will be able to enjoy in-flight entertainment system during takeoff and landing. (AFP/Karen BLEIER)

From this Saturday, British Airways passengers will be able to turn on their in-flight entertainment systems prior to take-off and will be able to leave it on during landing.

British Airways has reached an agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority to allow passengers to use the in-flight entertainment system in the carrier's aircraft from the time they reach their seats until arrival at their final destination.

Currently, in-flight entertainment systems are turned on 30 minutes after taking off and have to be switched off 20 minutes before landing.

All in all, the airline calculates that with the new regulation, passengers will have an extra hour of viewing time. The pilot will be able to override the entertainment at any time to make announcements.

However, the new regulations will only apply to BA's new generation of seatback in-flight systems, including all 52 Boeing 747s, 38 Boeing 777-200s, 6 Boeing 777-300ERs, and 14 long-haul Boeing 767s.

Regulations for passengers using their own tablet devices remain unchanged.

The agreement was reached following a series of trials that showed that the new in-flight system does not present any safety issues.

It is the first time an airline in the UK offers this service, others worldwide have already launched the new system.

Since 2009 Air Canada has offered gate-to-gate entertainment on some of its flights -- including hundreds of music albums, satellite radio programs, flight path information, 30+ movie choices on domestic flights and 72+ movie choices on international flights and TV shows.