News Weird
Google gaffe offers flights to Twin Towers 6
QMI Agency
First posted: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 02:19 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 02:24 PM EDT
(Google Flights screenshot)
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When Google introduced its latest tool, Flight Search, on Tuesday it offered travellers a destination that no longer exists - the World Trade Center.
The site google.com/flights lets users find and book flights by typing in their "from" and "to" destinations.
The web giant posted an "early look" at the feature on one of its official blogs, Inside Search.
"See a simple list of the most relevant flights," reads the blog post.
But on Tuesday, if a traveller entered "New York" as a destination, they got a drop-down menu of options that included not only JFK and La Guardia airports but also the World Trade Center, though it appeared in greyed-out text accompanied by the note "unavailable."
A reader of Australia's Sydney Morning Herald discovered the gaffe and posted a comment on the newspaper's website.
A spokeswoman for Google told the paper Flight Search uses codes provided by air transport officials, and that codes may still exist for locations that have been "decommissioned."
"We are removing the WTC code now that we're aware of it," she said, "and we will look for other airports that need to come out, as well."
Google gaffe offers flights to Twin Towers | Weird | News | Toronto Sun
Google gaffe offers flights to Twin Towers 6
QMI Agency
First posted: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 02:19 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 02:24 PM EDT
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Report an error
When Google introduced its latest tool, Flight Search, on Tuesday it offered travellers a destination that no longer exists - the World Trade Center.
The site google.com/flights lets users find and book flights by typing in their "from" and "to" destinations.
The web giant posted an "early look" at the feature on one of its official blogs, Inside Search.
"See a simple list of the most relevant flights," reads the blog post.
But on Tuesday, if a traveller entered "New York" as a destination, they got a drop-down menu of options that included not only JFK and La Guardia airports but also the World Trade Center, though it appeared in greyed-out text accompanied by the note "unavailable."
A reader of Australia's Sydney Morning Herald discovered the gaffe and posted a comment on the newspaper's website.
A spokeswoman for Google told the paper Flight Search uses codes provided by air transport officials, and that codes may still exist for locations that have been "decommissioned."
"We are removing the WTC code now that we're aware of it," she said, "and we will look for other airports that need to come out, as well."
Google gaffe offers flights to Twin Towers | Weird | News | Toronto Sun
