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1.1 Purpose

The aeronautical networks attract the attention of both industry and academia since Internet access during flights turns to the crucial demand from luxury with the evolving technology. This in-flight connectivity (IFC) necessity is currently dominated by satellite connectivity and air to ground (A2G) network solutions. However, the high installation/equipment cost and latency of the satellite connectivity reduce its efficiency. The A2G networks are utilized through the ground stations deployed in terrestrial areas to solve these satellites’ problems. This terrestrial deployment reduces the coverage area of A2G networks, especially for remote flights over the ocean. The aeronautical ad hoc networks (AANETs) are designed to provide IFC while solving the primary defects of dominating solutions. The AANET is an entirely novel solution under the vehicular networks since it consists of airplanes with ultra-dynamic and unstructured characteristics. These specific characteristics cause special challenges for AANETs when combined with the environmental and mobility effects. This chapter presents a holistic review of these open AANET challenges by investigating them in data link, network, and transport layers. Before giving the details of these challenges, this chapter explores the main features of AANETs for IFC. Therefore, we provide our specific interest in the AANET by investigating its particular features and open research challenges in this chapter.