Photography is not a crime. But for Miami shutterbug Sandy Dewitt, taking a picture of an airline employee was apparently enough to deem her a security risk and get her barred from flying.
U.S. Airways has stirred up a firestorm of protest from photography rights advocates after escorting Dewitt off a flight because she took a picture of an employee’s name tag. After witnessing Tonialla G. being rude to a number of passengers in the boarding area of a flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Miami on Friday, Dewitt pulled out her iPhone and snapped a picture. She planned to use the photo later when reporting Tonialla’s behavior to U.S. Airways officials.
However, once aboard the plane, Dewitt says the employee confronted her and forced her to delete the photo. And she wasn’t done there. Tonialla then went to the cabin and informed the pilot that Dewitt was a security risk and had her escorted from the plane by flight attendants.
“I announced to the other passengers that I was being removed because I took a photo,” Dewitt told Pixiq.com.
Dewitt was then told she could no longer fly U.S. Airways and had to catch a flight the next morning with SouthWest.
While Dewitt’s removal has sparked strong criticism for the airline, Todd Lehmacher, a spokesman for US Airways, says the photographer displayed belligerent behavior before she was kicked off. “Once onboard, she was using foul and explicit language,” Lehmacher told MSNBC. “She was removed at the request of the captain.”
So what do you think? Was Dewitt unfairly treated, or is US Airways within its rights to have the photographer escorted off plane?
View Comments (7)
At first I thought Ms. Dewitt was kicked off for trying to get that pink snail into the overhead compartment.
I would certainly come down on the side of said photograph, but I think she could have done things a little differently.
Did she, or could she have, take the picture without being detected. Was it with a cell phone or one of those camera and lens set ups where the lens is what attaches to the tripod? (please forgive my over technical description of the second choice)
I think it would have even been better if she just remembered the flight attendant's name and when she got in her seat, record the name somehow. The picture she got was not going to prove anything, so she only needed the name.
Maybe this does or doesn't enter into the discussion, but we are in a "Post 9-11 World."
I was not escorted out but loudly told by an airport employee that I had to stop taking pictures, and that was pre 911.
Thanks all.
Having known Sandra socially for several years, I find that HIGHLY unlikely.Sandra is about as "laid back" as they come.
I'm constantly guilty of snapping off a quick camera phone pic whenever I want to remember something later but don't have anything handy to write on. Maybe she should have sent herself a text draft instead. I'm sure that she didn't get belligerent until after she was being removed from the plane. Shame on the stewardess and US Airways.
Instead of taking a photo of the stewardess' name tag, she should have videotaped the woman being rude to passengers.
i'd like to hear more about the photographer's behavior.
It sounds like you shouldn't annoy US Airways employees or they will say you are a security risk and have you removed from the plane. Photography seems entirely incidental in this case.
U.S. Airways may have been within their rights, but who really wants to fly on an airline like that? Bad customer service is bad business.
Nonetheless, we can't deny there is a correlation in people's minds between photography and terrorism. What is it with terrorists and their love of photography anyway? Don't they know that's how you get caught?
I have no idea who Dewitt is; however, I frequently think many of these types of episodes are precipitated by the "victim".