On Monday, the Indian government took the decision to permit passengers to use WiFi during flights in the Indian airspace with the permission of Pilot. As per the official notification, the passengers will be able to use the Wifi inside the aircraft and the main Pilot has the permission to switch on the in-flight Wi-Fi. From now on all the airlines operating in India will be able to provide free access to in-flight WiFi services to its passengers. The department of telecommunications two years back proposed the Ministry for the permission of both internet and mobile communications in the Indian airspace. The official notification reads, “The Pilot-in-Command may permit the access of Internet services by passengers on board an aircraft in flight, through WiFi on board, when a laptop, smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, e-reader or a point of sale device is used in flight mode or airplane mode,”. It further adds “Provided that the Director-General shall certify the aircraft for the usage of internet service in-flight through WiFi on board subject to the procedures as specified in this behalf,” The notification also adds the new rules set for the availability of the Wi-Fi during flights. Only the main Captain is authorised to switch on or switch off the Wi-Fi during the flight Wheres the captain should follow certain guidelines such as:
The WiFi service will only be switched on when the aircraft is at a reduced speed. The WiFi service will not be allowed during the take-off or landing If the weather is not clear the Captain has the authority not to turn on the WiFi. The aircraft proving the in-flight WiFi should be certified by DGCA in this matter.
The notification also mentioned that the main Captain can only allow the access of WiFi to laptops, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, e-readers when they are on a flight or airplane mode. This means that the users can now stream videos on their devices during flights and would be able to make VoIP calls with messengers such as Whatsapp. Exact charges of the service will be decided by respective airlines. For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date using the Gadget Bridge Android App.
