Wi-Fi is becoming omnipresent in India, except in one —that is mid-air flight. This may hopefully change as Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey stated that the ministries of Civil Aviation, Telecommunications and Home Affairs have been working on allowing Wi-Fi use in flights.
Globally, many airlines are already offering Wi-Fi for passengers, but they have to switch it off once they enter the Indian airspace.
Presently you cannot access Wi-Fi inside an airplane due to security reasons. None of the Indian aircrafts have Wi-Fi onboard as they find the service too costly.
Availability of Wi-Fi is also estimated to provide local airlines with an additional source of revenues in the middle of stiff competition in the Indian aviation market, which has been observing one of the highest passenger traffic growth rates in the world.
Carriers will have the option to charge for service though they can provide free usage to some specific limit or just specific flying classes.
Choubey said that there is relatively a good chance that in 10 days passengers will be able to operate Wi-Fi in the Indian airspace, also saying that Cabinet go-ahead might not be required for allowing Wi-Fi facility on-board.
The officials said that the facility will be available in both, domestic and international flights for which the technical and operational procedures are in the advanced stages of completion.
When asked whether the passengers will be permitted to take calls as well, he suggested that it should be there.
“…if data is going to be allowed, it should be possible to make calls as well. We expect that to happen as well,” he said.
Indian flyers soon be getting on-board Internet in India
