Dubai travel: Passengers on some Emirates flights could face Wi-Fi, mobile interruption

In May 2023, Dubai’s flagship carrier said passengers can enjoy some form of free connectivity once they sign up to Emirates Skywards

Read more...
by

Waheed Abbas

Published: Sun 24 Sep 2023, 11:00 AM

Emirates airline said passengers on some of its aircraft could face Wi-Fi and mobile connectivity interruption.

The world’s largest international carrier said the interruption could affect services on some of its A380 flights as well due to a satellite issue, which the airline said is beyond its control.

Advertising
Advertising

In May 2023, Dubai’s flagship carrier said Emirates passengers in every class of travel can enjoy some form of free connectivity once they sign up to Emirates Skywards. The development has resulted in an additional 30,000 Economy Class passengers connecting to complimentary onboard Wi-Fi every week.

The increase in free connectivity was well received by Emirates’ passengers with 450,000 average users per month, a 30 per cent increase in passenger use in 2023 versus the same period last year.

“Due to a satellite issue outside of our control, our customer Wi‑Fi and mobile service may not be available on some of our A380 flights. We’re sorry for this inconvenience and hope to be back online again soon,” the airline said in a statement on its website.

To date, it has invested more than Dh1.1 billion ($300 million) into onboard connectivity.

Buy Wi-Fi plans

Emirates passengers can also buy Wi-Fi plans during their flight. The first package costs $2.99‑$5.99, depending on the length of the flight, allowing passengers to chat using WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Line or Viber with text‑only service.

The second Wi‑Fi internet package for the whole flight costs $9.99‑ $19.99, depending on the length of the flight.

Due to limited bandwidth and satellite data cost, media streaming and some sync services are restricted during the flight.

ALSO READ:

Waheed Abbas

Published: Sun 24 Sep 2023, 11:00 AM

Recommended for you