My buddy Jeremy, who I met years ago, I believe on an Air New Zealand delivery flight for their new 777-300, is a popular and talented aviation photographer. He recently tweeted something concerning, a risk which all travelers should know about.
“Honest question: can a crew member physically prevent me from getting off of the airplane until I showed them the contents of my phone (they wanted to see the last 3 photos) to verify that I did not take a photo that contained them in it.”
Honest question: can a crew member physically prevent me from getting off of the airplane until I showed them the contents of my phone (they wanted to see the last 3 photos) to verify that I did not take a photo that contained them in it. pic.twitter.com/d6m42a8ck4
— JDL (@photoJDL) October 28, 2022
The incident happened on October 28 on an American Airlines flight (AA 5510) operated by PSA between Charlotte and Asheville. Jeremy was tweeting back and forth with other avgeeks and included some disturbing details.
Jeremy writes: “I was off the plane and the FA had the captain prevent me from going further down the jetbridge and then brought me *back* onto the plane and took the phone out of my hands.”
“I had stepped into the jetbridge and the FA had what I think was the pilot or FO block me from going further. Then they brought me back on the plane and the FA demanded I open my phone and show them the last several photos and then took the phone out of my hands to inspect them.”
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Jeremy is a smart man who understands airline policies. He went on to tweet: “I get that they may have a policy about not photographing staff without their permission. I get that and support that. Does suspecting a passenger violated that enable them to functionally detain someone and search a personal device?”
I’ve sent Jeremy a message asking for more information about what happened but he’s definitely not the first nor the last passenger to whom this has happened, which is the point of this article.
As Zach Honig, a very popular aviation blogger, who used to work for The Points Guy, wrote: “This is incredibly upsetting to hear. I can’t believe they thought for a moment that it’s acceptable to force you back onto the plane and demand to see your phone. Sorry this happened to you ?”
Zach has firsthand experience with this as he wrote a post in 2015 titled: “When Photography Gets You in Trouble at 35,000 Feet.”
Zach was on another American Airlines flight, a widebody to London with his girlfriend. “The purser was accusing her of taking pictures on the plane, which, apparently is forbidden. Except that it’s not — well, not exactly. The thing is, Sarah didn’t even have a camera — I was the one taking pictures. The purser went so far as to say “this could be trouble for the both of you,” which carried some pretty serious implications, especially given the current state of commercial air travel.”
Zach contacted American Airlines PR and they confirmed the policy to him with this statement: “American allows photography and video recording for personal use. For many customers, taking photos and sharing them on social networks has become part of their travel experience. When photographs and video are used for professional purposes, we do our best to notify flight crews so they are aware and prepared to offer some additional latitude with journalists and bloggers.”
Another AvGeek, Charles Ryan Teo, replied to Jeremy’s thread stating: “I had crew insisting on me deleting the photos but that was during the flight. I was on Transasia. No issue with other crew on this flight, only with this particular one. I was just taking photos of the cabin and nothing else.”
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@dubshn1028 from Ireland chimed in with: “It happens a lot of some European airlines where a warning is given not to photo crew or pax but they can photograph the outside of the plane I know some of the bloggers get away with it.”
Personally, I have also had a similar experience in 2006 while flying Newark to Porto, Portugal on TAP. I was on a government/airline-funded press trip and was shocked that within a minute of boarding the aircraft, I was scolded. I wrote on my blog: “I got off to a bad start with the flight attendant, because when I first sat down I took a picture. He came over and said, “no pictures allowed on the plane.” I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. Have you ever heard of such a stupid thing? I reverted to sneaking pictures (not using a flash) so I could share my experiences with you.”
I can understand about not wanting me to take photos of the flight attendants and other passengers, which I almost never do without asking for their permission but not being able to take photos of the seat, the food and myself is ridiculous.
I did take a big chance, continuing to take pictures, which I wouldn’t do today. It was dumb, especially on a foreign airline as I could have ended up in jail. My advice includes a few basic and simple things:
1. Don’t take photos of the crew or other passengers without their permission.
2. If asked not to take photos, stop.
3. If asked to delete your photos, it’s best to comply or risk being banned from the airline, losing your status/miles or worse, being arrested (depending on the country).
Have you ever been yelled at or physically detained because you took photos on a plane? If yes, please share the details (airline, year, what happened) in the comments section.
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Your phone is personal property and the drink servers have no right to ask to see your phone. They have no powers to detain or arrest. Talk to a Lawyer.
If the airline has a policy that does not allow a passenger to take photos of staff. How would they know that you violated that policy unless they detain you and ask to see the photos? It probably could have been handled better. Having been a flight attendant myself for 35yrs I personally wouldn’t care if someone took my photo. I am just glad I no longer work in an industry that has become insane and dangerous
What about taking pictures of TSA feeling up your own spouse or children? Never mind. That would never happen.
Not knowing over which Country this occured, my best advice as a former CA. police officer is to file a complaint with the Federal authorities for False Imprisonment and if they physically restrained you then also for assault and battery as well as kidnapping since once you have been moved from one place to another, against your will constitutes kidnapping, (regardless of the distance involved, ! )
After that seek out and retain an attorney to handle your Civil suite against the Airline and each and every person directly involved with preventing your freedom to leave the aircraft.
If and when it is against Company policy to Not do anything against ESTABLISHED POLICY they are required to POST it in a clearly marked and accessable location.
Depending on the jurisdiction, I suppose this could be unlawful detention or false imprisonment, and then if they moved you without consent, a kidnapping. More likely than a criminal case though, they may have created a tort. I guess you’d have to consult with a lawyer to decide whether the photographer should make a claim. The employees are not law enforcement officers, and have no legal authority. Even the pilot’s authority is about the safe operation of the aircraft, not stopping someone on a jet way who is departing.
There are already too many jerks flying. You add another jerk to the list.
That’s a stupid comment Andrew. My workplace doesn’t involve mass transit where the service experience is a matter of public interest.
I’ve only been asked once in my short experience. I said no. They said give me the phone. I said no. They said sir give me the phone so we know no inappropriate photos were taken. I said no.
There’s this thing about defamation and slander. I can easily assume they thought I did because I look a certain way. Tattoos etc. So you prove your not. Next question or am I free to leave. Goodbye sir. Bye bye
I guess you missed the part where he said he doesn’t take pictures of the crew unless he asks 1st.
Taking pictures on a plane is inherently harmless. This is obviously a petty abuse of power which the airline employees appear to gleefully cling to, and which they stridently run with whenever the opportunity comes up
Basically they are self-righteous bullies
If they did this to me it would have been snag on them, since my phone instantly backs photos up to multiple services. And then I’d have anonymously published them as payback.
Think about how you might feel if someone came into your workplace and started taking pictures of you. Just because you are “allowed” to do something doesn’t make it right.