Recently, when Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut flew to Mumbai from Chandigarh, media personnel in the flight were seen violating social distancing norms while trying to click photos of her.
Videos and pictures of reporters from the Indigo flight also went viral on social media.
A passenger from the same flight, who sat diagonally opposite to Kangana Ranaut, shared her experience with The Quint. She recorded the media personnel crowding to talk to the actor as soon as the flight touched the ground.
Days after the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation warned airlines that it would suspend a scheduled flight for two weeks if anyone onboard was found engaging in photography.
The aviation regulator also issued a letter.
— DGCA (@DGCAIndia) September 12, 2020
Talking to PTI, DGCA said that it has asked Indigo to take appropriate action.
We have seen some videos wherein mediapersons are standing too close to each other in the 6E264 flight on Wednesday. It seems to be a violation of safety and social distancing protocols. We have asked IndiGo to submit a report on this incident.
The DGCA was of the view that the ground staff at Chandigarh airport should not have allowed so many people with big cameras onboard.
Netizens called out mediapersons for their behaviour and were clearly not pleased with this ban on photography onboard flights.
So I guess no more selfies when onboard! Can they atleast tell us more about the security breach that lead to this? https://t.co/7UH4BVKXj2
— Arjun Jain (@arjjain) September 13, 2020
Thank you Indian mainstream media idiots. Your staff act irresponsibly, and the @DGCAIndia now bans photography overall. Surely the easy targets here are aviation enthusiasts, because who will dare take action against the biased media channels. @HardeepSPuri https://t.co/FTeP2rELiB
— Archeet N (@archeetn) September 13, 2020
On one side we are talking of providing WI-FI during the flight. and on the other side, no photographs to be taken by the Crew or by the Passenger. Should we blindfold all the passengers before they board the flight ? Or take away their mobile devices ? @DGCAIndia @MoCA_GoI https://t.co/LnpdqZjAeo
— Rajat (@rajatbagaria) September 13, 2020
What,I am confused after reading this @DGCAIndia , is photography in plane is an offense? why? @DGCAIndia @SamChuiPhotos @gotravelyourway @simple_flying 📍 https://t.co/II4IUMiVO6
— suresh (@suresh__senthil) September 12, 2020
No more #MileHighClub selfies. 😭😭😭 https://t.co/h4fsMjhrqA
— That Goan Guy (@schmmuck) September 12, 2020
Responding to DGCA’s warning, Indigo released a statement. It read:
We would like to reiterate that our cabin crew, as well as the captain, followed all the requisite protocols, including announcements to restrict photography, follow social distancing and maintain overall safety.
The carrier said that it is committed to providing comfortable and safe travel experience to its passengers.
