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Emirates Airline To Roll Out Free Starlink Wi-Fi This Month
The airline’s two-year program begins November 2025, and will put Gulf rivals in a fast race for high-speed inflight access.
Emirates has begun a push to upgrade its entire in-service fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink, a move that shifts inflight connectivity from a perk to a standard feature on Gulf long-haul routes. The first modified Boeing 777-300ER, A6-EPF, is on display at the Dubai Airshow and will operate the airline’s first commercial flight with the service once the show closes.
The rollout starts on Boeing 777s this month. A380 installations follow from February 2026. Emirates plans to work through about 14 aircraft a month, aiming to cover all 232 active jets by mid-2027.
Access will be free across all cabins, without logins or loyalty requirements. The carrier says bandwidth should support streaming, gaming, video calls and work apps on personal devices and seatback screens.
Sir Tim Clark, Emirates’ president, cast the tie-up as part of a wider cabin refresh. “Partnering with Starlink is another defining moment in our continuous commitment to ensuring our customers fly better,” he said, pointing to refurbishments across First, Business and Premium Economy.
The region’s airline sector is moving quickly with hi-speed Wi-Fi. Qatar Airways says more than 100 of its widebodies now carry Starlink. Several Saudi operators are following suit. With Gulf hubs stitching together long east-west networks, fast internet is becoming a differentiator — especially in sectors where travelers expect to stay online.
For Emirates, the connectivity upgrade lands alongside one of the largest cabin projects in commercial aviation, tightening the airline’s pitch as Dubai grows its role as a global transit stop.
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SpaceX framed the scale of the deal as a stress test of Starlink’s capacity on dense, long-haul fleets. “With Starlink onboard your Emirates flight, you’ll be able to stream, game, and have seamless video calls, just as you can do on the ground,” said Chad Gibbs, vice-president of Starlink Business Operations.
As the Middle Eastern carriers compete to anchor next-generation passenger experience standards, Emirates’ two-year timetable signals that high-bandwidth connectivity is shifting from a premium option to a baseline expectation across the region’s long-haul fleets.
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Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform
Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.
Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.
The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.
The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.
Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.
Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.
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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.
“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.
Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.
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