general

Technology provider Thales is hoping to automate new movie releases on its AVANT inflight entertainment system from around 2020 and to introduce live TV replay functionality by 2018. Currently, movies have to be manually uploaded to the aircraft by a technician on the ground, meaning that it may take a while for pre-release content to reach passengers. However, Thales said work is underway to beam this content to the aircraft by satellite as soon as early content rights permit. This functionality, which will be available as an option to Thales’ customers, is likely to come online around 2020, although Thales is hoping to go live sooner if possible. The wait is largely dependent on available bandwidth and satellite capacity, such as SES 17, which will not be available before then. <br/>

Transport minister Marc Garneau has put in place enhanced airline security measures on passenger planes from some countries, but he says it does not involve a ban on all large electronic devices. Garneau was tight-lipped about what type of security measures the govt has adopted or what countries are affected. “I did put in place some measures to increase security for flights coming from certain countries where the destination was Canada, and those measures have now been put in place to ensure greater security for our air passengers,” he said Tuesday. Garneau said he was prevented from discussing the specific measures, citing national security. Federal sources said the measures involve stricter screening of passengers and checked baggage, but they also would not name the countries. <br/>