Free WiFi at McGhee Tyson would be a leading-edge idea

In the wonder-why-we-don't-have-it-here department.

While most large airports have Wi-Fi in their terminals, it is smaller airports — those serving 500,000 to 2 million passengers annually — that have full Wi-Fi access, and many of those airports offer it for free, according to the ACI.

The ACI is the Airports Council International, a trade group, and that paragraph is from a Denver Post story about Denver's airport now offering free WiFi. McGhee Tyson would fit pretty much in that smaller airport passenger range. I think it had 1.8 million plus passengers in 2005. It does have WiFi in the terminal, but it's not free. Wouldn't it make sense to offer free WiFi at McGhee Tyson?

The Denver airport's spokesman told the Rocky Mountain News it was done to "stay a leading-edge airport." Hint, hint.

I liked this quote from the Rocky story:

"I thank them for it," said Darryl Jenkins, a Virginia-based aviation consultant. "It's becoming a bigger deal, and it's now considered something you should do amongst polite society. Airports take you in so many other places, so it's not like they're starving for revenue. It's OK to let a passenger go through and leave with a buck or two."