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April 2006
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Wireless Internet access coming soon to North American flights
Though wireless Internet access is already available on some international flights, the service has not been offered on flights over North American air space in the past. That’s about to change—in May, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will auction airwave spectrum to allow wireless broadband through a ground-to-air network.
Verizon Communications Inc. has already said it will bid for a ground-to-air license, and if it won the bid, the company would begin to offer the service by mid-2007. Other companies are expected to make a bid and would also be expected to begin service in mid-2007.
DetailsUpdate: EU bans 92 airlines
As previously reported in the October 2005 issue of CWT Traveler , the European Union (EU) last week banned 92 airlines, most of them based in Africa, from landing at European airports, declaring them unsafe by international standards. The ban applies to cargo and passenger carriers from Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, and Liberia judged to have an “inadequate system for regulatory oversight,” or insufficient safety standards. It will be enforced by all 25 EU nations, plus Norway and Switzerland.
