Are VIP lounges the only real place for privacy?

April 2010

Closed circuit television monitors, air content analyzers, behavior detection software – all part of the technology being used to keep us safer at airports. So how would you feel if your conversations inside an airplane were subject to surveillance? And is VIP lounge access the only way of avoiding privacy issues at the airport?

The EU is funding a study on ways to detect suspicious behavior aboard passenger airliners. The aim is to coordinate the use of cameras, microphones, explosives detectors and a sophisticated computer system which would give a pilot early warning of any danger, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.

Closed-circuit television cameras and other systems designed to monitor suspicious behavior are in place at airports around the world. Additionally, cameras inside an airplane cabin have been used for several years by many airlines. The small devices are meant to allow the cockpit crew to observe any passenger disturbance. Ironically, airline pilots are largely opposed to the use of video cameras inside the flight deck itself – a proposal that aviation authorities have made in order to augment the use of flight data and voice recorders.

The EU-funded study will measure the effectiveness of a system of microphones designed to pick up passenger conversations and listen for key words or phrases that would arouse suspicion. Combined with the use of multiple cameras throughout the cabin and explosives detectors in the lavatories (to detect the assembly of an explosive device), sophisticated software will be used to make a threat determination and alert the flight deck when necessary.

The cost for an on-board surveillance system will likely be borne by the airlines and that could mean higher ticket prices for passengers. However, there are currently no plans to mandate any such surveillance devices on airplanes and aviation safety agencies want to be confident that any additional electronics will not interfere with critical airplane systems.

Though most passengers mind their own business and pay no attention to the fact that they are likely being watched, taking things a step further by adding voice surveillance may be one step too far. According to the Telegraph report. Simon Davies, director of Privacy International said: "Audio airline surveillance is the line that must never be crossed in a high security environment." He added: "The day the airlines install hidden microphones on planes is the day that all trust in the airlines is destroyed."

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