A Delta Air Lines flight traveling from Las Vegas to Atlanta on Monday, Aug. 10, experienced a temporary disruption after an unauthorized Wi-Fi network was detected onboard, leading the crew to disable the plane’s internet service as a precaution.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Delta said there was no breach of its systems, including the in-flight Wi-Fi network, and stressed that the aircraft’s operational technology was not impacted.
“Safety of flight was never in question and no aircraft operating systems were affected,” the airline said.
Delta added that it is conducting a full review of the onboard Wi-Fi incident and will work with federal law enforcement officials and aviation regulators as the investigation moves forward.
“We thank our crew for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding,” the carrier said.
According to Delta, flight attendants shut off the aircraft’s Wi-Fi capability for roughly 30 minutes while the situation was being assessed.
Air traffic control did not declare an emergency, and the Delta flight continued safely to Atlanta without further interruption.
The unusual episode has sparked fresh attention around in-flight Wi-Fi safety and what passengers should be mindful of before connecting to wireless networks while flying.
California-based travel expert Lee Abbamonte told Fox News Digital that seeing an unauthorized network on a commercial flight is uncommon, and that travelers should pay close attention to which network they select.
“I think that the unauthorized network appearing on a commercial flight is pretty unusual,” Abbamonte said. “I’m hoping this is not a sign of things to come.”
Social media posts about the incident claimed a rogue network called “Delta WiFi Fast” appeared onboard.
The posts also said several passengers onboard had attended a cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.
Abbamonte said that when passengers are on a flight, it’s easy to get confused about networks.
“I think the passengers are vulnerable on an airplane because they’re a captive audience,” he said.
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Greoup via Getty Images
He encouraged travelers to connect only to the Wi-Fi network identified by their airline.
He also said carriers could help by making the correct network name clear to passengers.
“I think the airlines need to make an announcement. When the flight attendants go over the safety demonstration and all that stuff — they should add that for this particular plane route, this is the official Wi-Fi network that you should join and don’t join any others,” Abbamonte said, expressing his opinion.
He also said he believed that Delta’s decision to temporarily disable its Wi-Fi was an appropriate response while the crew dealt with the situation.
Despite the incident, Abbamonte said he would still feel comfortable connecting to Wi-Fi while flying.
“I would just double-check to make sure you’re on the right network,” he said.
