British Airways Explicitly Bans Onboard Photography And Videos Of Cabin Crew Without Consent

In the latest update to their General Conditions of Carriage, British Airways has now explicitly banned photography, live streaming and videography of cabin crew and other personnel without their express consent.

While not immediately obvious from the website as their last updated date still shows “17 October 2024”, the undermentioned line was added under section “11 a” titled “Unacceptable behaviour”. It says:

“If, while you are on board the aircraft, we reasonably believe that you have filmed, live streamed or photographed our crew or other colleagues without their consent, we may take any measures we think reasonable to prevent you continuing your behaviour.”

According to the CoC, if this behavior persists, they can have you removed from the aircraft, and may also cancel any remaining future sectors on your ticket. If the situation is deemed to be very serious, they can also call in local law enforcement for further assistance.

As pointed out by PYOK, this change lines up with the roll out of Starlink high speed internet. Given the increased bandwidth, any on board confrontations can easily be photographed or put on video, or even livestreamed as a matter. Prior to this, BA’s policy was a bit more generic, requiring customers to follow crew instructions and avoid disruptive behavior that could prevent the crew from carrying out their duties.

I will say it is actually surprising to me that British Airways only recently added a policy like this as many other airlines have had clauses addresses photography and videography involving crew members and related staff when consent is not given. With this new policy in effect, it cracks down on a wide range of recording devices including Meta glasses, GoPro cameras, and other body-mounted recording equipment.

Credit: cavebear42/Wikimedia

While I can understand passengers wanting to be able to record in cases where there are major disputes between travelers and crew members, it’s a welcomed change as there has been an uptick in passengers honestly being creepy by secretly filming and taking pictures of other people without their permission.

A Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew Lounge shared a post highlighting a similar issue on board an IndiGo where a male passenger recorded a female flight attendant without permission during taxi. The photo which has since shared across multiple news outlets in India, shows her bowing her head to avoid being recorded.

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