Government to provide Wi-Fi on flights | Fusion - WeRIndia

Good news to air passengers. The government approved to allow air passengers to access the internet through Wi-Fi on flights.

At present, this service is available only for defence personnel.

The Civil Aviation Ministry lifted the restrictions on flyers and issued a notification saying that air passengers can access the internet through Wi-Fi on board keeping their devices on airplane mode.

The Pilot-in-Command may permie access to air passengers when their laptop, smartphone, tablet or any such devices are used in flight or airplane mode.

The notification also said that the Director-General should certify the aircraft for the usage of internet through Wi-Fi on flight subject to the specified measures.

However, the Aviation Ministry does not mention when would this come into effect.

Reports said that the Department of Telecommunications had recommended in 2018 that internet and mobile communication services can be permitted in Indian airspace. This move is also expected to increase the revenue of airlines.

Due to the rules, except Vistara that offers limited Wi-Fi on board, many domestic flights do not provide in-flight Wi-Fi service. But international flights have this facility.

That’s why only the international airlines are offering in-flight Wi-Fi services on all flights including national and international. However, they are switched off when the aircraft enters Indian airspace.

If this new facility comes into effect, they need not switch it off.

However, Vistara is offering limited Wi-Fi on board to stream content from their in-flight channel. Vistara’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft would be the first plane in the country to provide in-flight Wi-Fi service.

Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay  (Free for commercial use)

Image Reference: https://pixabay.com/photos/girl-typing-type-use-using-mobile-791570/