Delta Updates Photography Policy In Thoughtful, Pro-Customer Way

Delta Air Lines has clarified its onboard photography policy, as reported by PYOK, and I’m impressed by the way the airline has gone about this. Separately, the airline has also updated its employee social media policy.

The challenge with airline photography rules

With a vast majority of travelers having smartphones, we can all take pictures and videos at a moment’s notice. Many people enjoy taking pictures when they fly, and not just because they’re like me, and are thoroughly reviewing flights.

Admittedly this creates a challenging situation for airlines. While a vast majority of airlines let you take take pictures as long as other people aren’t in them, there’s a grey area. What happens if an employee appears in the picture, even if you’re not meaning to take a picture specifically of them? What happens if something negative occurs on your flight, and you want to capture proof?

There’s no right or wrong answer here, but we’ve seen a number of viral incidents over the years. In the case of Delta, earlier this year we saw some social media posts go viral of Delta flight attendants wearing flags in support of Palestine.

This was a lose-lose situation. Not only were many people online angry at Delta for allowing this, but Delta employees also largely felt frustrated that their faces were being plastered over the internet, and the company wasn’t defending them. This caused the Atlanta-based carrier to update its policy on wearing flag pins. That also brings us to the latest update.

Delta rolls out logical new photography policy

Delta has issued a memo to employees, entitled “Our approach to customer photos/videos,” reportedly in response to a number of Delta employees requesting that Delta prohibit photography taken without employee consent.

Delta has taken time to review its policy, and came to an interesting conclusion — Delta employees can’t tell customers to stop photographing or videoing them, and can’t kick passengers off flights for that reason. As the memo explains:

“We know most customers are well-intended and document their travel experience as a normal and fun part of the journey, and employees do the same when they travel.”

“Delta is a common carrier by air, meaning we are obligated to transport any passenger who pays our fare and agrees to our contract of carriage. Common carriers (aircraft, trains, subways, buses, etc.) cannot restrict customer conduct to the same degree that other businesses can, and we cannot implement or institute rules that are inconsistent with laws and regulations.”

“You’ve likely seen gyms or other businesses implement a no-photo policy. Those private businesses are permitted to implement such policies because they do not operate under the same regulations as airlines.”

Delta has concluded that while passengers do have to follow crew member instructions, this has to be based on Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), and they don’t address restrictions on photography.

Delta does have one carve-out when it comes to being able to photograph employees. Specifically, it’s not allowed “when the content captured is not well intentioned,” like if it “interferes with the safety and security of flight or if the behavior interferes with the safety or security of employees and customers.” But even in those situations, employees are told to focus on de-escalation, and leverage the support they have from ground teams and pilots.

Now, Delta employees are still allowed to ask passengers to respect their privacy and avoid including them in photos, but they “cannot force them to stop, nor may we remove someone from a flight merely because they took a photo or video.” So such a request would be a courtesy, rather than an official order.

While this has been published internally, Delta has also updated its “onboard experience” page, to add the following note for customers:

We recognize that capturing content is a standard part of customers’ travel experiences. However, capturing content should not interfere with the safety or security of flight, fellow customers or our employees. We ask that you are mindful of including Delta employees in that content, and respectful in your intent.

Bottom line

Delta has updated its onboard photography policy, and it’s probably the most detailed and well thought out policy we’ve seen from an airline. Passengers are allowed to take pictures, including of others, as long as it’s well intentioned.

Admittedly that remains open to interpretation, but this seems more logical than a policy that strictly prohibits photos with others in them, which seems highly unrealistic (even when you take a selfie, others may appear in the background). The airline is factoring intention into whether photography is allowed, and that’s always tough to define. But still, this seems better than before.

What do you make of Delta’s updated photography policy?