Hyderabad: Domestic flyers will be able to browse the internet and surf mails while travelling following clearance by the Director General of Civil Aviation by the end of August.
As of now, about 70 airlines across the globe provide in-flight internet services but the Wi-Fi facility is off whenever they fly into Indian airspace.
To allow internet in flights, the DGCA had sought the opinion of the Department of Telecommunications. An official said the department had sent back its opinion. The department said it would have no problem but the DGCA must take precautions to avoid conflict between ATC signals and cell tower/satellite signals.
“Telecom operators provide data services based on circles like Telangana state and Karnataka. Internet service providers consider the same circles as their jurisdictions. We need to create a free circle for flyers,” the official said.
An official from the civil aviation department said, “Jet Airways and SpiceJet will have the facility in the initial stages and it will be introduced on other flights by the second half of 2018.”
