by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:20 AM ET, Thu February 18, 2021
Qatar Airways announced it would soon become the first global airline to offer passengers 100 percent touchless technology for its in-flight entertainment system.
As part of the carrier's latest COVID-19 safety measures, the Zero-Touch technology enables passengers on Qatar's fleet of Airbus A350 planes to pair their electronic devices with their seat-back screen by connecting to Wi-Fi and scanning a QR code displayed on the screen.
Travelers can now use their devices to navigate more than 4,000 options through the airline's award-winning Oryx One in-flight entertainment system, which limits the frequency of surface contact.
"The introduction of the state-of-the-art Zero-Touch technology, and enabling passengers to use their personal Bluetooth headset on board is an important step in taking our already rigorous and stringent COVID-19 precautions to another level, limiting passenger surface contact and preventing any possible spread of infection on board," Qatar Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said.
"We hope it provides yet further assurance of the safety of air travel, as well as offering passengers on board increased confidence that they are enjoying the most consistently advanced customer experience available in the sky," Al Baker continued.
In addition, Qatar Airways revealed it is set to become the first airline in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to offer passengers in Business and Economy class the option to pair their Bluetooth headphones with the onboard seat-back system on the Boeing 787-9 fleet.
In December, TravelPulse's Rich Thomaselli talked with Qatar Airways executive Mark Drusch about what's next for the carrier.
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