Passenger Takes Selfie On Airplane With Flight Attendant in the Background, Airline Employee Takes His Phone to Delete The Photo

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jun 23, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

Was the airline being over-the-top about this?

I wonder how many pictures are out there that feature me in the background. I know for a fact that I am a background character in so many photos, not only because I live in New York City and am around big groups of people all the time, but because I've seen it happen! I try not to make a face when someone in front of me at a baseball game takes a selfie, but sometimes I just can't help it! The knowledge that I am being captured inspires me to pose! 

Not everyone is as comfortable as I am with being in the background of strangers' selfies. It's scary to know that you might be making an ugly face in a photo you'll never see. Worse of all, the people in possession of said photo might zoom in on your face and laugh at it! The horror! 

In some countries, it is illegal to take pictures of people in public without their permission. In Japan, you might have your phone's camera shutter sound on to alert those around you when you are taking a picture. Such a policy would never take off in the United States, because taking photos of strangers looking silly is about as central to American identity as hot dogs and fireworks. 

The passenger in this story was confused when an airline employee took his phone to delete a selfie that he had taken with a flight attendant in the background. It's hard to say whether the photo was taken in a country where this is illegal, or if this employee was particularly invasive.

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  • an airline passenger taking a selfie while looking out of the airplane window, excitedly thinking about his trip.
    via Austin Distel

    A model of an airline passenger taking a selfie while looking out of the airplane window, excitedly thinking about his trip. 

  • I took a selfie with a flight attendant in the background. Am I the bad guy?

    I took a spontaneous vacation. Before I got on the plane I took a selfie with the open plane door in view. I wanted to send this to family to let them know I was suddenly
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • traveling. When I took the picture there happened to be a flight attendant (F mid 20's) inside the door in the background. When I stepped through the door, she asked if I had
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • a flight attendant closing the airplane door, looking back at a passenger who just took a selfie with her in the background.
    via Andrej Lišakov (Unsplash+)

    A representation of a flight attendant closing the airplane door, looking back at a passenger who just took a selfie with her in the background.

  • taken a picture with her in it and seemed displeased with me. I apologized and said I didn't intend to make anyone feel uncomfortable so I deleted the picture right
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • in front of her as a nice gesture. Later before the flight took off, I got pulled to the front of the plane by a different airline employee,
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • to have my phone checked and make sure I had deleted the photo out of the deleted folders file on my phone as well. I was told by the other employee that what I had
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • done was wrong and he asked if we were gonna have any more problems on the flight which implied that what I had done was a problem. I said no because I didn't
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • want to disrupt my travel plans over this drama about a photo and I knew I was not in a position of power to argue against this crew.
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • In reality, I don't feel like what I did was wrong. I feel like I had already bent over backwards to make this person feel comfortable. I've never heard of this being r de,
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • r de or not allowed. They put a damper on my trip. That said in reality, I could be totally ignorant on the norms of taking pictures in semi public settings. AITAH?
    via u/The_Average_Man_
  • jenx4848 Not knowing which country you are from, or traveling to, it makes it hard to answer. However, in some countries, such as the UAE, it is illegal to take a photo of someone without their consent, even if it is by accident. Just an FYI for the future.
    via u/jenx4848
  • Dubai, United Arab Emirates
    via Wael Hneini

    In the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it is illegal to take someone's picture without their expressed permission, even if it's an accident.

  • Hairy-Proof8504 It doesn't matter what country it is, it is the rules of the airlines.
    via u/Hairy-Proof8504
  • SFLoridan NAH. You made a mistake but did all the right things after that to make amends. They were protecting their own privacy, which btw has become the rule nowadays. On my recent trip I had four separate flights (two international and two domestic) and in all of them, right in the beginning after the safety announcements, they also asked that we shouldn't take any pictures of anyone else without their explicit permission. They don't know you, so their being extra cautious was not oversteppin
    via u/SFLoridan
  • Exportxxx NTA, flight attendant power trip.
    via u/Exportxxx
  • alg45160 I sure wish they'd get in a power trip about literally anything else, like people putting 46775 items in the overhead bins or playing loud music/videos, seat switching demands, etc Ya know, things that are actually against the rules or name the flying experience miserable. I wouldn't want to be in the picture either, but they handled it Very poorly.
    via u/alg45160
  • Debsrugs nta. I'd seriously be emailing the company to ask what that was all about.
    via u/Debsrugs

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rules employee flight attendant phone passenger Travel selfie airplane entitled people
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