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In-flight entertainment systems (IFE) are nowadays an omnipresent part of air transport – especially on long transoceanic flights. For the most part, these are innocuous screens on the back of the seats designed to entertain us as we project into the sky.
Recently, however, some eagle-eyed travelers noticed that while we were watching the screens, they could watch us.
This week, a pbadenger on board a Singapore Airlines flight noticed a camera built into his IFE screen. Another pbadenger noticed a similar camera aboard his American Airlines flight.
Does someone spy on us? According to the airlines, no.
In a statement to Business Insider, American Airlines said:
"Cameras are a standard feature of many in-flight entertainment systems used by many airlines, and the manufacturers of these systems have included cameras for future use, such as seat-to-seat video conferencing." by the manufacturer, they have never been activated and American does not plan to use them. "
Singapore Airlines echoed these sentiments.
"Some of our most recent IFE systems provided by original equipment manufacturers have a camera provided and built-in hardware," said an airline spokeswoman at Business Insider. "These cameras have been designed by the manufacturers for future developments."
"These cameras are permanently disabled on our planes and can not be activated on board," he added. "We do not intend to activate or develop features using the cameras."
Airlines do not manufacture their own IFE systems. They may be able to adapt the content and layout of the system, but the hardware is purchased from vendors. In the case of American Airlines, the IFE system in question comes from Panasonic, while the Singapore Airlines systems come from Panasonic and Thales.
Panasonic was not immediately available to comment, but a Thales spokesperson told Business Insider that the cameras on his systems are turned off and can not be activated in flight.
Read more: I made the world's longest flight in a premium economy clbad – this is what the 18 hour trip was like.
IFE systems equipped with cameras are installed in the premium economy cabins of some American Airlines Boeing 777-200, 777-300ER and Airbus A330-200.
Cameras are a bit more prevalent in the Singapore fleet. They are located in the business, premium and economic cabins of the Airbus A350-900, Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787 of the airline.
Thales and Panasonic Avionics are two of the largest OEMs in the airline industry. This means that these systems can be installed on aircraft other than Singapore and American Airlines.
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