Video Story
Watch VideoPorn on Planes? The downside of sky-high WiFi
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: NBC
Flight attendants are asking American Airlines to place parental controls on the wireless Internet service offered on some flights so passengers cannot view pornographic Web sites.
Flight attendants say they are concerned people looking at racy Web sites during flights could lead to arguments between passengers.
"Our members are telling us they're concerned about it," a spokesman for the flight attendants union said. "There are certainly enough pressures in the airplane already. We don't want to add one more thing to it."
The airline recently installed WiFi on 15 of its planes to test the new system. American has not agreed to the request from flight attendants to install a filter to block objectionable Web sites.
"We always hope our customers will use good judgment on what they view on board our aircraft and the vast majority do just that," said AA spokesman Tim Smith.
American said its flight attendants are capable of handling any disputes that might come up.
Sarah Cronin, who was traveling with her two children, said she also understands the concern.
"If someone's next to you, and they're watching some kind of video that you would not want your kids to see, that could be really uncomfortable," she said. "So yeah, I would definitely want some kind of parental controls or something in place."
Another woman said she didn't want her family exposed to Internet pornography during
flights.
"You have families traveling," Burnett King said. "Some people probably don't want to see that type of material, so I think it's a good idea to regulate it."
American said it has always had some trouble with passengers looking at explicit magazines or DVDs on board. In those cases, flight attendants ask the passengers to put the material away or move to another seat.
The airline said it will continue to consider adding Internet filters as it continues to test the Wi-Fi system.
