“Digital detox”: Aeroflot stops providing streaming in-flight

aeroflot_narrow-body_cabin.jpg
ANATOLY Foto / Shutterstock.com

Russian flag carrier Aeroflot announced that on-board entertainment, such as the streaming of films and music through an on-board Wi-Fi connection, will no longer be available on the company’s Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft. 

According to a statement on Aeroflot’s official Telegram channel, this is the result of ‘foreign providers refusing to provide the service’. 

The company is already working on a domestically-made solution and the streaming services will soon be available again, the statement added. 

Meanwhile, Aeroflot recommended a number of alternatives to on-board entertainment, such as reading books, leaving thank-you notes in the guest book, sleeping or trying to meditate. 

According to Aeroflot’s website, the same streaming services are provided on all of the company’s aircraft: Airbus A350, A330, A320, Boeing 777 and Boeing 737. The company did not specify why the service is going to be unavailable on narrow-body jets only. 

Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, numerous countries imposed sanctions that prohibited selling or leasing aircraft and their parts to Russian companies.  

As a result, the companies ended up flying their aircraft without support from the manufacturer, often refusing to return their jets to Western lessors and scrambling to find third-party providers of parts and maintenance.  

The withdrawal of aerospace companies from the Russian market was mirrored in the IT sector, as numerous companies – including streaming giants Netflix and Spotify – stopped providing their services in Russia. 

 

 

AeroTime is on YouTube

Subscribe to the AeroTime Hub channel for exclusive video content.

Subscribe to AeroTime Hub