Singapore Airlines has been caught installing cameras into seatback entertainment screens.The airline insists that the cameras are disabled and not in use, but passengers flying onboard are not quite sure.

What are the details?

Passengers have noticed a rather odd sensor onboard the new Singapore Airlines planes, specifically on the entertainment seatback units.

At first, it looks like some sort of inferred sensor, perhaps to monitor light conditions to adjust the screen accordingly, but when questioned Singapore revealed their true nature.

"Some of our newer inflight entertainment systems provided by the original equipment manufacturers do have a camera provisioned and embedded in the hardware" - Singapore Airlines

The airline has claimed that these cameras were installed on the seats by the original seat manufacture, as a possible future feature for their various customers. However, they insist that before deployment, these cameras were 'permanently disabled'.

"[The cameras are] permanently disabled on our aircraft and cannot be activated on board. We have no plans to enable or develop any features using the cameras".

There are 84 aircraft in the Singapore Airlines fleet that has the camera on the seatbacks. They are their new A350-900s, their refurbished A380s, their older Boeing 777-300ERs, and their new 787-10s.

Passengers have been quick to point out that just because the cameras are disabled now, does not mean in future Singapore could turn them on:

Or this twitter user's suggestion:

yeah its a camera. depends on what type though, could be infrared to see if somebody is using the seat. could be an eye tracker to see if the passenger had fallen asleep. could be for security reasons.

— {¡i} (@kr33p3r1000) February 19, 2019

Or perhaps into the rhelm of fantasy:

If you do fly with Singapore and find yourself looking down the barrel of a camera, this one twitter user has a suggestion:

What do you think about this new Singapore in-seat 'upgrade'? Let us know in the comments.