British Airways (BA) has announced a crackdown on in-flight photography and recording in order to protect the privacy of its cabin crew, with passengers now explicitly banned from filming, capturing images of, or live-streaming BA staff without prior permission.
An update to Section 11a of the British flag carrier’s conditions of carriage covering acceptable conduct on board now states: “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.” Those measures could include potential removal from onward journeys and offending passengers being reported to law enforcement agencies.
New @British_Airways onboard announcement out of Singapore to London last night advising not to take pictures or videos of crew and passengers…..
— AndyBTravels (@AndyBTravels) April 28, 2026
The rise of social media and mobile phone cameras has meant an increase in incidents where members of the public photograph or film each other, and employees of firms they interact with—often during disputes or disagreements over antisocial actions or levels of service. The resulting footage often makes its way to social platforms, where commenters have been known to “pile on” or deluge accounts with criticism and hateful comments.
Tech giants such as Mark Zuckerberg have claimed that their products have contributed positively to the public arena by raising awareness of injustices and sharing information about movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, which previously would have lacked a forum.
However, it could be argued that the advent of in-flight Wi-Fi services fast enough to allow streaming, including SpaceX’s Starlink, with whom BA has recently contracted, will encourage more people to generate controversial content, creating a legal minefield. Furthermore, recent tech developments that make it even easier for the public to film each other without the other person’s knowledge, such as Zuckerberg’s “Meta” glasses, have raised legal and ethical questions. The British Airways ban includes the use of such devices.
Usually, filming or image capture in a public place where people have no reasonable expectation of privacy is considered to be within the law, though perhaps not within “good practice” for professional photographers. The Independent, reporting on the latest from BA on this issue, notes that according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), if filming or photography “does not endanger the safety of the cabin in any way”, then cabin crew and air captains have discretion over whether to allow the activity.
