Not Cool! Twitter User Photographs Cabin Crew Napping In Airline Lounge
We live in a well-connected world. This is due in no small parts to social media and mobile phones.
However, there are certain boundaries and etiquette, both legal and moral. It would seem a Twitter user recently crossed them. Thankfully, the Tweet has been deleted since.
The Incident
A Twitter user posted a photograph of a cabin crew working at Vistara. The picture was taken at the Domestic Lounge of Bengaluru Airport in India. The photograph showed the lady in uniform taking a nap. The user mentioned the time of the day (it was afternoon) and copied the Tweet to the handles of Vistara and Sanjiv Kapoor, its Chief Operations Officer. The most ridiculous aspect was that the user had the audacity to question the airline COO on why the cabin crew was napping?
I am not sure what the user had taken an offense to. Was it the use of an airline lounge? Are airline crews not allowed naps? Did the person know her schedule for the day?
Needless to say, it was grossly insensitive and downright illegal in some countries. You cannot take pictures of individuals without their consent and post them on social media. Although, I am not sure about such regulations in India.
The Response
Normally, such a tweet would be ignored by most aviation executives. But not Mr. Sanjiv Kapoor. In a curt reply to the message, he made it clear that it is not cool.
https://twitter.com/TheSanjivKapoor/status/1202120781251121152
The message has a strong upvote from my side. I hope you do the same.
Managing an airline cabin is a stressful job. And what an individual does in her private time is none of my business.
Actually, in many countries it is legal to photograph people and post the images on social media without their consent. Street photography is an art form doing just that. It also depends on whether the location is in a public or private setting, in many jurisdictions one has no right to privacy in the public domaine. An airport lounge could be either. Without showing the photograph this article is pointless, as one cannot see what the author objected to and form at their own opinion.
Now it appears the blogger who took the photo objected to the flight crew napping, which is an entirely different issue, and reflects on poorly on them.
The complaint would better be directed at the self entitled attitudes of such travellers rather than the visual medium they used. This could have been more thoughtfully written.
I am not aware of the specific law in India, so cannot comment on whether the act was legal.
I have a screenshot of the tweet, but I want to respect the user who deleted the tweet. However, I have paraphrased what the author tweeted.
I agree that entitlement should be discussed. As far as more thought on my writing, I will try harder. Keep visiting 🙂
The point he made was that in SOME countries is IS illegal to take the photographs. That already says in many they ARE legal. Yikes.
No to add insult to injury, the photo was taken showing someone do what people normally do in airline lounges. Get some winks in.
This is not about what is legal or not, it is about moral issues. Just because something is made in law, doesn’t mean it is right. So having said that, NO, it is night proper to take photos of someone without their consent.
So I am with you, there could be so many good reasons someone is sleeping. Besides, if not sleep there, then where? Seems like a human thing to do?
Agreed.
Just one thing, do you think the Tweet was taken down because of moral issues? Or potential legal ones?
Someone in comments to the Tweet had asked Vistara to sue.
I see cabin crew in lounges in India all the time (in uniform). I’m assuming they are using a Priority Pass benefit or similar. Frankly, I find it a bit distasteful to have the place full of airline employees. If they want to take advantage of their credit card perks, that is their business, though I feel that they should not be allowed in the lounge while in uniform.
Well. I visit lounges in my uniform (a business suit). So why shouldn’t cabin crew be allowed in theirs?
Lounges in India are quite full these days. But that is not due to cabin crew. Rather as you said, it is because many people have Priority Pass and Lounge Key. The cabin crew stands out of the crowd because of their uniform. But can we fault them for this?
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