A Delta Air Lines pilot who allegedly took surreptitious photos of a flight attendant has been “sacked” by the Atlanta-based airline according to an independent organization that advocates on behalf of flight attendants.
Video of the pilot seemingly taking photos of the flight attendant was posted on Reddit a couple of days ago and within hours a formal complaint had been made to Delta.
The video shows the pilot flying in uniform but as a passenger in an aisle seat on a Frontier Airlines flight. Appearing to hide his phone behind a Kindle-type device, the pilot allegedly takes photos of the flight attendant without her permission as she is closing the overhead lockers.
It looks like the photo is taking photos of the back of the legs of the flight attendant.
Reddit user u/Cellinhaluv was sitting in the window seat beside the pilot when they spotted him taking the photos. “Saw this delta pilot on a frontier flight taking pictures of the flight attendant’s legs and butt the whole flight,” they wrote.
“Have sent it to delta but don’t want them to bury this and don’t want an unsafe and uncomfortable environment for flight attendants.”
Another Reddit user said the video had already been shared on a social media group used by Frontier flight attendants and the crew member involved was aware.
“Us crew members can see the names of crew members from other airlines who fly on our aircraft, so rest assured she knows the pilot’s name and consequences hopefully will follow suit,” the user wrote in reply to the video.
On Friday, flight attendant mental health blog th.air.apy reported that the pilot had been sacked.
Delta hasn’t confirmed whether the pilot has been dismissed but a spokesperson for the airline said of the incident: “Delta is aware of the video and is investigating these allegations. Nothing is more important than creating a safe environment for all airline staff and guests.”
A 2018 survey by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) revealed that two-thirds of flight attendants in the U.S. had experienced sexual harassment during their flying careers.