Airline Photography Policies

AC016

AC016

Senior Member
Found this to be an interesting article:

Flier beware: Airlines aren’t clear about their photography policies - The Washington Post

I have done loads of photography while in flight, no one has said anything. I have also walked around the terminal at CYUL and taken a bunch of photos of ground ops and no one cared. Funny thing is, i have always been the one to go under extra security screening or have had run ins with airport security at various airports, from Manila to LAX to Toronto.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
On the plane it's often enforced at crew discretion. No one is going to say much about people shooting out the window or doing in-seat selfies. Shoot in certain areas of an airport, however, and you may wind up with some blue glove love. I also suspect it has a lot to do with who you're with while shooting. Anything you get away with is pure luck. You must have an innocent face. ;)
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
I made about 20-30 trips to the airport near me over the winter to shoot the resident snowy owl. Spent hours each time shooting and just sitting in my car. Security drove by about every 10 minutes but never questioned me. I was amazed no one approached me as the part of the airport I was shooting at is used by the 174th fighter wing and is the new home of the MQ-9 Reaper Drone! I guess they figured the short fat guy could never make it over the barbed wire :). Either that or my Oly gear is too small to be intimidating :).
 
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RocketCowboy

Senior Member
I've not been bothered while taking photos out the window either. More airports also seem to be investing in art exhibits and the like inside the secure portion of the airport, so I would expect to see more people taking pictures while at the airport. I find it more interesting that airlines and airports don't have a published policy in place, particularly if this has become an issue lately.
 
AC016

AC016

Senior Member
Rick M said:
I made about 20-30 trips to the airport near me over the winter to shoot the resident snowy owl. Spent hours each time shooting and just sitting in my car. Security drove by about every 10 minutes but never questioned me. I was amazed no one approached me as the part of the airport I was shooting at is used by the 174th fighter wing and is the new home of the MQ-9 Reaper Drone! I guess they figured the short fat guy could never make it over the barbed wire :). Either that or my Oly gear is too small to be intimidating :).
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I'm going to go with the "short fat guy" reasoning, lol:p I find they only get their boxers in a bind if you get to close to the fence.
 
AC016

AC016

Senior Member
RocketCowboy said:
I've not been bothered while taking photos out the window either. More airports also seem to be investing in art exhibits and the like inside the secure portion of the airport, so I would expect to see more people taking pictures while at the airport. I find it more interesting that airlines and airports don't have a published policy in place, particularly if this has become an issue lately.
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CYUL (Montreal's international airport) actually spent money to make a spotters park for people to take photos from. It sits right next to one of the main runways.
 
AC016

AC016

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
On the plane it's often enforced at crew discretion. No one is going to say much about people shooting out the window or doing in-seat selfies. Shoot in certain areas of an airport, however, and you may wind up with some blue glove love. I also suspect it has a lot to do with who you're with while shooting. Anything you get away with is pure luck. You must have an innocent face. ;)
Click to expand...

Perhaps not to innocent, since i always seem to get the extra security "touch", lol:p
 
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