At Wi-Fi Networking News, Glenn Fleishman opens up a discussion on access to power outlets in airports. If you've ever traveled with a wireless-enabled laptop, chances are you've had the not-so-fun experience of wandering around your airport gate area in (often fruitless) search of a power outlet. It turns out some airports are making that effort easier for travelers, while others are blocking use of outlets entirely.

In response to Fleishman's post, Frank Boosman writes, "It seems to be the smaller airports that are doing a better job of this sort of thing. HSV has reasonable numbers of outlets and free Wi-Fi. CLT has free outlet-equipped workstations and free Wi-Fi. Why other airports don't see the marketing value of this, I can't for the life of me understand."

And 'Munchi' points out, "Most laptop adaptors are rated 90W. That's during max use, i.e. recharging. At an average rate of 4~5 cents per KiloWatt hour (Massachusetts average), your two-hour movie should cost you/them ~$0.01. Orders of magnitude less than the ridiculous overcharges on your airplane tix, soft drinks and snacks."

Alec Saunders observed that Montreal's Trudeau Airport seems to have blocked off all of its power outlets -- and the response to his post was so huge that he started the Air Power Wiki to consolidate information on availability of power in airports worldwide. Not many posts there yet, but it could be an excellent resource.

And at Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow recalls being told by officials at London's Luton Airport to unplug his laptop because it constituted a fire hazard -- until he noted that people in the First Class lounge didn't seem to face the same restriction.

I'm with Boosman: anything an airport does to accommodate its travelers, not restrict them (security concerns aside), seems like a good idea -- and the "fire hazard" argument just seems ridiculous. Restricted outlet usage causes enormous frustration for travelers, with no clear benefit to the airport.