A Vistara passenger raised concerns about a staff member using a camera with a front-facing screen to take photos of all UK888 passengers at gate 111 at Hyderabad Airport on Friday afternoon.
In a post on X, a user, Harsha Vadlamani, said, “Hey @airvistara and @RGIAHyd, a staffer operating a camera with a front-facing screen took photos of all UK888 passengers at gate 111 this morning. Was too tired and groggy to ask them but care to explain what was happening?”
In response to the query, Vistara stated that the cameras placed at boarding gates are for the Digiyatra process and apply to all customers.
For re-confirming, Vadlamani further asked if the “photos of all passengers are being taken regardless of them opting for Digiyatra”, Vistara replied, “As checked with the airport team we wish to confirm that pictures of all the customers are taken.”
Furthermore, RGIA Hyderabad replied, “Let us check with the team and get back to you.”
A user reacted to this and said, “I also experienced this. Found it quite strange.”
Another netizen wrote, “Make sure you don't delete this tweet okay? Because that would make this criminal behaviour look even more suspicious.”
A netizen expressed concern, stating, “It's against multiple laws that exist to take pics for something that's optional and not mandatory for air travel. Kindly delete the data and follow the law of the land.”
Another user noted that several individuals deemed the incident “illegal” and remarked that it “could provide intriguing grounds for a court case”.
"Coercing oblivious passengers into compromising their privacy is diabolical. Brace yourselves for the incoming lawsuit," wrote another user.
Moreover, it is not permissible for airlines to take photos of passengers who haven't opted for DigiYatra.
Taking photos of passengers who haven't opted for DigiYatra without their consent would likely violate their privacy rights and possibly even breach data protection laws.
On May 31, a Vistara flight bound for Srinagar received a bomb threat. However, the threat turned out to be a hoax. After the plane landed, all the passengers were safely deboarded.
