Airlines operating in India are now allowed to provide Wi-Fi services to their onboard passengers when they are on airplane mode, the central government said on Monday.
“The Pilot-in-Command may permit the access of Internet services by passengers on board an aircraft in flight, through Wi-Fi onboard, when laptop, smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, e-reader or a point of sale device is used in flight mode or airplane mode,” a notification issued by the Aviation Ministry stated.
“Provided that the Director-General shall certify the aircraft for usage of internet service in-flight through Wi-Fi on board subject to the procedures as specified in this behalf,” the notification further read.
The notification did not mention when this will come into effect.
As of now, the service was only available for defence personnel.
It is worth mentioning that all devices using the in-flight Wi-Fi will be required to be on flight mode.
Vistara CEO Leslie Thng last Friday had informed the reported that its Boeing 787-9 aircraft would be the first plane in India to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services.
Foreign airlines have been offering Wi-Fi services on all their national as well as international flights, but they have to switch off the service when they enter in the Indian airspace.
(With input from agencies)