Carriers will add filters to WiFi service

This is the kind of thing that you’d think wouldn’t be necessary – you’d think that airline passengers sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers would have the common decency, when they use the new in-flight WiFi technology, to be discreet and considerate about what they put up on the screen of their laptops. But apparently the airlines rolling out the new service don’t want to take any chances. Delta Air Lines, which plans to install Aircell’s Gogo in-flight Internet service on its domestic fleet, said this month it intends to block access to any inappropriate web sites – generally taken to mean pornographic sites. A few days later, American Airlines – which already offers the Gogo service on 767s between New York-LAX/SFO and New York-Miami – said it is also working on “technology to filter pornographic content.” Since it launched the WiFi service, “American has not experienced any reported incidents of customers viewing inappropriate content,” a spokesman said, adding, “However, we believe this is an appropriate measure to take.” Some news reports indicated that American’s flight attendant union put pressure on management to take the action after receiving a number of complaints from its members who are working the affected flights.