By Stephen Lawson
October 6, 2008

A reported decision by Delta Air Lines to block "inappropriate" Web sites from its planned in-flight Wi-Fi service could be just the tip of the iceberg for airlines' control of Internet use. Delta, which plans to offer Wi-Fi on some planes later this year and on its whole domestic fleet in 2009, has decided to prevent passengers from accessing inappropriate content, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article.

Delta said it had considered turning to its flight attendants to handle the problem but decided to adopt technical means instead. In-flight Wi-Fi is starting to emerge on a few airlines outside the U.S. and was launched by American Airlines on a limited basis in August. Both American and Delta will block VoIP, avoiding the uproar over annoying in-flight cell phone calls.

But the prospect of passengers surfing the open Web has raised some concerns about children and other passengers being subjected to objectionable material, such as online pornography, while stuck in their seats. Flight attendants for American reportedly raised the issue earlier this year. Delta plans to offer the Gogo service from Aircell LLC, the same system used by American.

Gogo uses a network of cellular towers on the ground to transmit data back and forth to Wi-Fi routers on planes. It will charge passengers $9.95 for service on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 for longer flights. Aircell will implement content filtering for airlines if asked, the company said in an e-mail response to questions. Delta could not be reached for comment.