Google Offers Free WiFi in Some Airports

Google said it is working with 47 airports across the country to provide free WiFi as a “holiday gift” now through January 15.

The full list of airports includes Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston, Baltimore, Burbank, Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis, and Charlotte. Google said together the airports handle more than 500 million passengers, or about 35% the total number of annual passengers in the U.S.  Passengers at Burbank and Seattle airports will enjoy the free WiFi indefinitely.

The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for airports. Citing FAA estimates, Google said more than 100 million people will pass through the participating airports between now and January 15.

For business travelers, not having wireless can especially be a pain. Google noted that a recent study conducted by the Wi-Fi Alliance reported that 50% of business travelers take red-eye flights in order to be “reachable” during business hours, and 82% said that being connected through WiFi would help solve that problem.

“We know that this is a very hectic travel season for people, and we hope that free WiFi will make both traveling and connecting with friends and family a little bit easier,” said Marissa Mayer, vice president of Search Products and User Experience at Google.