I share my travel experiences here at OMAAT, including flight reviews and airport lounge reviews. I often get reader questions about the logistics of picture taking, and am asked if I ever run into issues.
In this post I wanted to step back a bit and look at the big picture — is taking pictures on airplanes and airports allowed, and are there any restrictions? It’s complicated, so let me share my experience.
In this post:
Taking pictures on airplanes is usually allowed
There are a countless number of airlines in the world, so of course not every airline is going to have the same policy regarding photography onboard aircraft. Very broadly speaking, taking pictures on airplanes is fine, as long as you’re not violating the privacy of others. That’s to say that on a vast majority of airlines, if you’re just photographing the seat, out the window, etc., you shouldn’t have any issues. There are two major caveats.
First of all, it’s common for airlines to have rules against photographing other people without their consent. In other words, you typically can’t just start snapping pictures of strangers. Now, admittedly there’s always a grey area here. Like, if you’re taking a selfie on a plane, odds are that someone else may also appear in the picture, in some form. You’re unlikely to have issues there.
Some airlines aren’t even that strict when it comes to taking pictures of others. For example, Delta allows photography onboard, including pictures of other people and crew, as long as the intent isn’t malicious.
Second of all, there are a very small number of airlines that do have rules against photography. In my experience, Central Asia is probably the region where you’ll most consistently find rules against photography on planes. For example, Turkmenistan Airlines and Uzbekistan Airways are two airlines I know of that prohibit photography onboard their flights.
Personally my approach is to just take pictures and assume it’s allowed, unless I’m told otherwise. However, I’m always very careful to not get other people in the pictures, because it’s common courtesy, as I see it.
Airport photography is a bit trickier in terms of rules
Rules around photography at airports can be a bit more inconsistent, since it often comes down to the laws of a country, rather than it coming down to an airline policy. Furthermore, in many situations, airline policies might actually be stricter than airport policies.
For example, in the United States, you’re basically allowed to take pictures anywhere, even at security checkpoints. You know, we love our freedom in the United States. 😉 You’re even (legally) free to photograph strangers as much as you’d like (not that I’m recommending doing that, but I’m just saying that you can).
Now, in the United States, airlines will typically have stricter rules than airports regarding photography. For example, many airlines prohibit taking pictures of employees or other passengers without their consent. Let’s say you have a bad experience with a gate agent, and you decide you want to record your interaction as evidence (I’m not taking a stance on this, but am just sharing a hypothetical).
That’s absolutely not illegal, but it may violate the airline rules. So you could get kicked off a plane for doing that (by violating the contract of carriage), but you wouldn’t be arrested for that, or anything.
Meanwhile in other countries, the rules are much less consistent:
- It’s common for airports to ban photography around security checkpoints and immigration checkpoints
- A lot of countries have unenforced laws regarding airport photography — for example, at least going back several years (I’m not sure if it’s still the case), UAE airports technically banned any sort of photography of planes or the airport without permission, but it was rarely enforced
- Countries have differing restrictions when it comes to the right to privacy that people have in public
Much like on airplanes, I generally just take pictures unless I’m told otherwise, or am asked to stop. The exception is at security or immigration, where I don’t mess around.
Misunderstandings & power trips do happen
I think it’s worth emphasizing that even if you’re following the rules, you could still run into issues sometimes when taking pictures. Some airline or airport employees may not know or understand the rules, may be exercising a little too much discretion, or may be on a power trip. All are possible.
For example, in 2018 I wrote about a bizarre Lufthansa flight, where a purser accused me of video recording the crew. She was aggressive about it and even stopped the safety demonstration to confront me. There was only one issue — I wasn’t doing what she was claiming, and I even proved it to her. It was super awkward.
In both Central Asia and Africa, I also seem to have the most issues with inconsistency regarding photo rules. For example, I took two flights in TAAG Angola first class. On the first flight, they had no issues with me taking pictures, and found my interest in the product charming. On the second flight, it was the complete opposite, and the crew was openly hostile and threatening about it.
As another example, when I flew Pakistan International Airlines, the lead flight attendant had no issues with me taking pictures, and we had a nice discussion about it. However, another flight attendant screamed at me to stop taking pictures, but was ultimately overruled. So it shows you the inconsistency with all this.
I think there’s one other important point to acknowledge, as much as I hate to say it. I suspect race, nationality, etc., will also factor into how many issues you’ll have taking pictures. I would imagine that some minorities probably deal with a lot more pushback than others, so that’s at least worth mentioning. This is very much a “your mileage may vary” situation.
My approach to taking pictures at airports & on airplanes
As someone who takes a lot of pictures on airplanes and at airports, let me share my general approach to trying to fly under the radar (no pun intended), and to avoid issues. Perhaps the airplane example is more valuable, since I find the experience to be more consistent.
I don’t volunteer any more information than I have to, and I also try to downplay the reason I’m taking pictures (I don’t want to say “oh, I’m taking pictures because I’m reviewing this flight”).
I think first impressions count, so I’ll always try to be very nice to the flight attendants and smile as I board, so they’re not suspicious in any way. Then I’ll just start taking pictures. In a vast majority of situations, crews don’t even notice, or don’t care.
Sometimes they’ll politely ask about why I’m taking pictures, either to investigate, or just out of curiosity. I usually try to be enthusiastic, and say something like the following:
- “Oh, this is such a beautiful cabin! Is it new?”
- “I’m a huge aviation geek, and this is my first time flying [airline, product, cabin, or whatever]”
- “I just love airplanes, and love to take pictures of my experiences”
I’ll then typically at the end just add “it’s not a problem if I take pictures, right? I’ll make sure that no other people appear in them.” In 99% of situations, that’s the last question I hear regarding pictures.
Lastly, in situations where I do take pictures with people in them (like a “bartender” on the airlines that have that amenity or a flight attendant standing in the aisle), I’ll always ask them beforehand if it’s okay if I take a picture, and emphasize that I want to respect their privacy.
Meanwhile for airports where I’m not sure if photography is allowed (as above, I’m talking mainly about Central Asia airports), it’s pretty easy to still take pictures undercover. iPhones are compact, and you can take pictures in a way where it doesn’t necessarily look like that’s what you’re doing. If you put some AirPods in and talk while taking pictures, it makes it look all the less suspicious.
Worst case scenario, if some security guard with a very big hat comes up to you and demands you delete everything, in my experience they usually haven’t heard of the “recently deleted” folder, so… 😉
Bottom line
I can’t imagine there are many people who take more pictures on airplanes and at airports than I do, so I figured I’d share my experience, since I know some people are unfamiliar with the rules. Ultimately there’s a ton of variability, though usually it’s not a problem to take pictures on airplanes and at airports, as long as you’re doing the best to respect the privacy of others.
What has your experience been with taking pictures on airplanes and at airports? Have you had any bad or strange experiences?
Oooookay, just found out I have a recently deleted folder. Thanks Lucky ;)
U.S. citizen here, of Greek descent. We flew into the airport at Santorini, Greece. The views from the aircraft were beautiful, so we took photos out the windows. One of the airline crew came over and yelled for us to stop taking photos, which we did. After disembarking at the airport, we were taken into custody by the police. We were accused of "spying," interrogated, and searched. Eventually they let us go. I won't ever go back to Greece, that's for sure!
My two cents.
I will take pictures of food, and things like seat backs, etc. I will not take pictures of people unless they are incidental to what the picture is about, and no particular person is specifically the primary subject of the picture (i..e, "look how crowded the airport is today" is fine).
I will not take "shaming" pictures, of people misbehaving in public, or of employees who are having a bad day and...
My two cents.
I will take pictures of food, and things like seat backs, etc. I will not take pictures of people unless they are incidental to what the picture is about, and no particular person is specifically the primary subject of the picture (i..e, "look how crowded the airport is today" is fine).
I will not take "shaming" pictures, of people misbehaving in public, or of employees who are having a bad day and are not acting in the best way possible. We all have sh*tty days at the office, and to me it's a d*ck move to take their picture and have it explode on social media or whatever.
As an older white guy, I am cognizant of not taking photos of groups of kids or young women, due to the creepiness factor.
Pictures of individual celebrities just trying to get from place A to B with their family are also off limits. Everyone should have some privacy.
Pictures of sports teams that are dressed in matching track suits or whatever, I think are fair game if they give their assent. College sports teams and women professional sports teams typically get a kick out of this. If any team looks to be in a dour mood, all bets are off.
And in terms of taking any photos that would suggest I'm scoping out the security of the place (random photos of the ceiling to see where the security cameras are, random photos of TSA lines, etc.), no way in h*ll am I doing that as a personal goal of mine is never to be arrested in my life.
I had an "influencer" in SQ first class the other week (SIN-ZRH) - the 777 cabin is 4 seats and there is no where to hide. I find it super intrusive to be included in someone's video or photos that are going to be publicly displayed without permission. Not only are these people annoying, they have to try everything, as in each of the 3 champagnes, and record it (multiple times), then do some loud...
I had an "influencer" in SQ first class the other week (SIN-ZRH) - the 777 cabin is 4 seats and there is no where to hide. I find it super intrusive to be included in someone's video or photos that are going to be publicly displayed without permission. Not only are these people annoying, they have to try everything, as in each of the 3 champagnes, and record it (multiple times), then do some loud talk about the caviar service, what they are eating, and how the bed is made. With a 1:20am departure some of us are paying a lot for a quiet cabin to sleep.
I was quite frustrated that the crew allowed it to occur when it was clearly including me in the footage, and I was clearly uncomfortable with it. Should be banned completely in my opinion.
On a related note, the "Cosc ar Ghrianghrafadóireacht" signage at Dublin's security checkpoints is how I found out that the Irish word for photography is a bit of a mouthful. Many EU airports have signage prohibiting photography at the checkpoints.
As for the US... I did find this rule for Boston and Worcester.
Massport regulation 740 CMR 30.21 says: "The use of a camera or electronic image recording equipment in a Restricted Area of...
On a related note, the "Cosc ar Ghrianghrafadóireacht" signage at Dublin's security checkpoints is how I found out that the Irish word for photography is a bit of a mouthful. Many EU airports have signage prohibiting photography at the checkpoints.
As for the US... I did find this rule for Boston and Worcester.
Massport regulation 740 CMR 30.21 says: "The use of a camera or electronic image recording equipment in a Restricted Area of an Airport that could reasonably be perceived as recording or attempting to record the image of an Airport security or emergency response measure is prohibited, unless authorized by the Authority. At the Authority’s request, the user or owner shall surrender any media reasonably believed to have been used to store photographic or electronic images of a security or emergency response measure in a Restricted Area of an Airport. The Authority may confiscate any such media if the owner or user refuses to surrender it on request."
740 CMR 30.01 defines "Restricted Area" to mean "any area of the Airport to which the public does not have authorized access."
Such a dumb article. You don't have time to take photos on airplanes and in airports when you aced the LSAT and made partner at a firm like Paul, Weiss.
To be sure, LSAT scores are irrelevant in the election of an associate to partnership. Key is whether the associate exudes the gravitas needed to win the trust of clients.
Brad Karp is an excellent example of this.
No one trusts their lawyer. You just grit your teeth and get on with it because you have to.
HU flight attendant in business class screamed at me for taking a photo of the meal. Apparently, not allowed to take photos. Not sure if it was just her issue with it. I had no problems anywhere else on various Asian (including other Chinese airlines), European, and U.S. airlines in different geographical locations.
You forget the category of restrictions due to military activity at airports. For example. at Bodø airport in Norway (of all places), photography of anything you can see out of the window is now strictly prohibited as there's a complete military base on the other side of the runway, and there's literally just a runway between the civilian part and the military part.
Lufthansa is just being Lufty again. I recall a meeting with a...
You forget the category of restrictions due to military activity at airports. For example. at Bodø airport in Norway (of all places), photography of anything you can see out of the window is now strictly prohibited as there's a complete military base on the other side of the runway, and there's literally just a runway between the civilian part and the military part.
Lufthansa is just being Lufty again. I recall a meeting with a worker's representative after we took over a German company and the guy literally started threatening us about the privacy of employees based on the German predecessor of the GDPR and the consequences it would have for us if we even did something slightly wrong in his eyes. They're just really awkward over there.
I almost forgot to add my favorite experience here where photography is prohibited. In Sri Lanka, of all places. Helitours is a commercial venture operated by the Sri Lankan air force. They used to have domestic flights from Ratmalana airport which also serves military purposes. Actually, the commercial domestic flights were mostly in use to transport high ranking staff and their families across the country, while leftover seats were sold to people like me. So...
I almost forgot to add my favorite experience here where photography is prohibited. In Sri Lanka, of all places. Helitours is a commercial venture operated by the Sri Lankan air force. They used to have domestic flights from Ratmalana airport which also serves military purposes. Actually, the commercial domestic flights were mostly in use to transport high ranking staff and their families across the country, while leftover seats were sold to people like me. So of course even touching a phone was disallowed. Which was too bad, as it was one of the very few occasions where I could try a Xi'An MA60 Tip: bring earplugs.
I'm usually not taking many photos in airplanes or at airports, but interestingly learned from a friend a while ago that me taking a photo out of Taipei's Songshan Airport was illegal because it is considered a military airport and the gate area even has signs disallowing photography.
Generally, most airports in Taiwan are also used for military purpose and have restricted areas. I've even been at a smaller airport where the bus transfer...
I'm usually not taking many photos in airplanes or at airports, but interestingly learned from a friend a while ago that me taking a photo out of Taipei's Songshan Airport was illegal because it is considered a military airport and the gate area even has signs disallowing photography.
Generally, most airports in Taiwan are also used for military purpose and have restricted areas. I've even been at a smaller airport where the bus transfer from the gate to the airplane through a restricted zone was supervised by military, of course also with no photography allowed.
I guess it might be the same in other countries and it's pretty common that taking photos of military zones is not allowed.
I take a lot of photos and haven't had any problems yet.... It's impossible not to get at least some people at the airport or on the plane in photos...so when I make YouTube videos about my flights, I blur out peoples' faces.
Why Lucky why? Nice DEI acknowledgement….
Who’s even considered a minority on the global scale? Anybody who isn’t Asian?Have you actually seen this discrimination in person? Are you talking about yourself being white and German on a German airline?
For all the Americans screaming about their rights, in Europe we have strict privacy laws and GDPR.
GDPR also applies to any entity conducting business in Europe, so that includes American, Delta, United and JetBlue .
In some countries it’s prohibited to take photos of individuals without permission.
By all means photo seats, toilets and meals but don’t photo others without consent. Many airlines make a point of announcing it in the...
For all the Americans screaming about their rights, in Europe we have strict privacy laws and GDPR.
GDPR also applies to any entity conducting business in Europe, so that includes American, Delta, United and JetBlue .
In some countries it’s prohibited to take photos of individuals without permission.
By all means photo seats, toilets and meals but don’t photo others without consent. Many airlines make a point of announcing it in the preflight briefing. It’s also common courtesy. Also consider some passengers ( generally male) are attempting to photograph others for let’s say not particularly nice purposes.
Bloggers should be mindful to pixelate other passengers, unlike Josh Cahill who films himself and others around him. Ben tends not to.
Assuming you mean to masturbate, it’s Orwellian to ban that use of a photo that was legally captured.
Publicity right or whatsoever is the stupidest law/right to ever exist.
What exactly is "right" about forbidding others from taking picture that includes your face?
Isn't it just intruding others' right so you don't get offended?
Snowflakes.
It's really about basic manners - I recently happened upon a video review of Lufthansa first class in which my partner and I featured extensively. Not only was this recorded entirely without our consent but the producer of the video was incredibly irritating throughout the flight with his very loud repeated pieces to camera and finger clicking in a very small cabin. In the end the flight attendant told him to "pack it in".
There should never be an expectation of privacy in public. Most major United States airports are not private entities.
Anti-photo policies are asinine. If you're screaming at me to stop taking photos, that's a huge red flag that you have something to hide, otherwise why do you care. It's like locking your luggage. That's how thieves identify which bags have valuables inside.
Taking photos of individuals without consent is pretty pervy. It isn’t a red flag. It means your a twat.
My partner had that done on a train. I was sitting next to the guy pointing his phone unbeknownst to him and saw him doing close ups. I then spoke to him and asked him to delete and ensure the recently deleted bin was also emptied.
When an airline representative insisted it wasn't permitted to take a picture at PDX I decided to investigate further. The Port Authority, which owns the airport, responded there were no rules against taking pictures in those portions they administer however airlines might have the right to prohibit pictures around gates which are spaces leased to them. I couldn't find any case law but several attorneys felt that courts were likely to consider the entire airport...
When an airline representative insisted it wasn't permitted to take a picture at PDX I decided to investigate further. The Port Authority, which owns the airport, responded there were no rules against taking pictures in those portions they administer however airlines might have the right to prohibit pictures around gates which are spaces leased to them. I couldn't find any case law but several attorneys felt that courts were likely to consider the entire airport a public space and that short of a compelling public interest that would support restricting the right to take pictures neither the Port nor the airlines would win the right to enforce any restrictions.
So even if the entity that controls a space has restriction they might not be enforceable. However the only way to find out is if they prohibit you from taking photos would be to a lawsuit so that a court could decide.