The selfie gods are smiling down on us: Garuda Indonesia is now allowing passengers to take photos and videos on board their flights after a week of mixed messages from the flag carrier.
Garuda Indonesia corporate secretary VP M. Ikhsan Rosan yesterday issued a written statement clarifying that personal flight documentation is not against company policy, meaning passengers are free to take out and use their cameras inside the cabin.
“But with the consideration of the comfort and privacy of other passengers,” Rosan wrote, as picked up by Kumparan.
Rosan added that his statement clarifies any uncertainty about the company’s policy regarding personal flight documentation.
Earlier this week, a circular by Garuda Indonesia announcing a prohibition on taking of photos or videos in the cabin during flights went viral on social media. Mere hours later, a revision to the circular was issued, saying that on flight documentation was “advised against”, not prohibited.
While there is no evidence that the circular was a direct response to a vlogger’s viral video about Garuda handing out handwritten menus on a business class flight, the timing of the circular’s issuance led many to believe that to be the case.
Garuda has since said that the circular going viral was the result of a leak to the public as it was still being reviewed internally at the time.
Nonetheless, the airline has reported the vlogger and his fiancee, who also appeared in the video, to the police for defamation.
After Garuda’s circular went viral, low cost carrier Lion Air — the largest airline in Indonesia — issued a ban on passengers documenting cabin activities without the company’s prior consent.
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