On-board WiFi facility has been a value-added feature in some airlines in the West, where a lot of passengers prefer to use their smart devices over the in-flight entertainment consoles.
Now, a few local carriers seem set to catch up with the trend. According to sources, national carrier Air India plans to launch the WiFi facility soon.
Globally, some airlines like Oman Air have offered the service that not only gives a major boost to entertainment options but also enables much-needed communication during emergencies.
Take for instance the recent emergency landing at Azerbaijan of a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore. Passengers tweeted while on board, an official of Air India pointed out.
“Some additional infrastructure requirements and licenses are needed to implement this facility. We will be able to launch it soon. It is bound to be widely used by passengers,” he said.
This is a service that passengers would be very interested in using, especially during long-haul flights, he added.
Driving a vehicle in the city can be an annoying experience, considering the heavy vehicle congestion, poor traffic management and complete disregard for traffic rules.
Social activists complain that a majority of motorists who are always in a hurry during peak hours do not halt at the stop line and also jump signals, leading to traffic blocks. The short-staffed traffic police are unable to rein in the violators at junctions.
A typical traffic violation occurs on a regular basis at the Vijaynagar junction in Velachery, where vehicles proceeding towards Velachery Bypass Road from Taramani Link Road often get stuck in traffic jams because vehicles coming from other directions jump the signal.
A senior official of the city traffic police said they have a timing policy for using the automated signal system during peak hours, and during the non-peak hours, police personnel manage the traffic. The automated signal system is in place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the morning hours and between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. during the evenings. The timing input for the signals are fed manually based on the traffic flow at a particular junction, he added.
Talking about the advantages of the Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS), which is in the pipeline for the city, the official said it would completely automate the system for detecting violations, generating challans, fixing timers for automated signals based on the traffic movement at all junctions, and other traffic-related services.
A trial run of the ITMS was implemented at the Dr. Radhakarishnan Salai-Kamaraj Salai junction.
