NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has requested that all domestic airlines provide Wi-Fi internet access to their passengers on board.
As of date, only 28 Air India aircraft offer such connectivity. Multiple airline executives said it is highly unlikely that the airlines would comply with the request.
A communication issued on Friday (June 19) by the Deputy Director General of DGCA, A X Joseph, to the Accountable Manager of all airlines states, “Rule 29B of the Aircraft Rules 1937 allows the use of internet services by passengers on board an aircraft in flight through Wi-Fi for use of smartphones in flight mode or airplane mode.” It has been issued as a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) too, it added.
IndiGo did not respond to this reporter while Air India Express sought more time to get back on the matter.
A SpiceJet source said the airline has been offering an in-flight entertainment system ‘Spice screen’ for all its passengers since August 2020, using which they can view movies and other content available.
Asked about the possibility of incorporating Wi-Fi services, an airline source said, “It is not an easy process. The aircraft needs to have antennae to receive a signal. For that, we need to create a hump in the fuselage. It is a costly and time-consuming affair.”
Another airline executive said the cost would ultimately be borne by the consumer. “If we add `100 or `200 as Wi-Fi charges, the passenger might even not be interested,” the executive said.
Carriers warn of cost
An airline executive said, “The expenses for retrofitting will run into crores and the aircraft needs to be pulled out of operations temporarily. It can be considered for new aircraft, but not on exisiting ones”
Only on 28 AI aircraft
Air India website shows in-flight Wi-Fi is avaiable on 28 aircraft—six Boeing 787-9, six Airbus A350-900, 10 Airbus A321 and six Boeing 777-300. The retrofit Boeing 787-8s are provisioned to offer Wi-Fi