Three of the world’s biggest airlines have admitted some of their planes have cameras installed on the backs of passenger seats.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have new seat-back entertainment systems that include cameras. They could also be on planes used by other carriers.

Companies that make the entertainment systems are fitting them with cameras to offer passengers options such as seat-to-seat video conferencing, according to an American Airlines spokesman.

But American, United and Singapore all say they have never activated the cameras and have no plans to use them.

While video conferencing is not available on United flights, the feature is currently in use on some Emirates flights with Panasonic entertainment systems aboard, for first-class fliers.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation said in a statement that it “will never activate any feature or functionality within an IFE system without explicit direction from an airline customer” and that “the cameras have simply been included to support potential future applications like seat-to-seat video conferencing.”

A passenger on a Singapore flight tweeted a photograph recently of the seat-back display, prompting other air travelers to voice concerns about their privacy at 10,000 meters.

Vitaly Kamluk, who photographed the camera on his flight, suggested that carriers should cover the lenses with stickers and said it would be easy for airlines to monitor passengers with them.

American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said cameras were in “premium economy” seats on 82 Boeing 777 and Airbus A330-200 jets.

“Cameras are a standard feature on many in-flight entertainment systems used by multiple airlines,” he said.

Singapore spokesman James Boyd said cameras were on 84 Airbus A350s, Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s and 787s.

The airlines stressed that they did not add the cameras — saying manufacturers embedded them in the entertainment systems.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【激活 】jīhuó activate set in motion, make active or more active

【明确的 】míngquè de explicit fully revealed or expressed without vagueness, implication, or ambiguity

全球最大的三家航空公司已承认，部分飞机的乘客座椅靠背安装有摄像头。

美国航空公司、联合航空公司和新加坡航空公司最新安装的座椅靠背娱乐系统中装有摄像头。

其他航空公司的飞机上也可能安装了类似系统。

美国航空公司的一位发言人说，生产娱乐系统的公司安装摄像头是为了方便飞机乘客之间进行视频会议。

不过，上述三家航空公司均表示他们从未启用那些摄像头，也没有计划使用。

联合航空公司的航班上还无法实现视频会议，但阿联酋航空公司一些航班的头等舱已经在使用这一技术，这些飞机上安装的是日本松下公司的系统。

松下航空电子公司发布声明说，“绝不会在未接到乘客明确指示的情况下，激活飞机客舱娱乐系统的任何功能。安装摄像头只是为了支持乘客间视频会议等未来的应用需求。”

新加坡航空公司的一位乘客近日在推特上传了一张座椅靠背显示屏的照片，促使其他乘客也表达了对1万米高空飞行中个人隐私的关注。

拍摄摄像头照片的乘客维塔利•卡姆卢克建议说，航空公司应该用贴纸盖住摄像头，有了摄像头，航空公司很容易监控乘客的一举一动。

美国航空公司发言人罗斯•范斯坦说，82架波音777飞机和空客A330-200飞机“高级经济舱”的座椅靠背安装有摄像头。

他说：“摄像头是很多机内娱乐系统的标配，多家航空公司都在使用。”

新加坡航空公司发言人詹姆斯•博伊德说，84架空客A350、空客A380、波音777和787飞机上安装有摄像头。

航空公司强调说，摄像头并非公司安装，而是生产商将其内置进了娱乐系统。

(Chinadaily.com.cn)