Overview
- Air France said in a December 18 video that nearly a third of its aircraft now carry Starlink antennas and that installation across the fleet is scheduled to finish by the end of 2026.
- French politicians including Aurore Lalucq and Jean‑Luc Mélenchon criticized the use of a U.S. provider, citing sovereignty and data‑security concerns.
- Franceinfo reports Starlink operates roughly 8,000 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites versus about 630 for Eutelsat/OneWeb, a scale tied to lower latency, though figures cited in editorials vary.
- Former CNES co‑director Jean‑Pierre Diris says Eutelsat could technically serve Air France’s roughly 600 planes, while the airline has previously pointed to Starlink’s pricing as a differentiator.
- The EU’s planned IRIS² constellation is described as a longer‑term option targeting around 300 satellites by 2030, leaving no immediate European replacement for Air France’s rollout.