BA off duty staff with access to Flight Passenger List on Flight - EU GDP Breach?
Apr 19, 2019, 4:02 pm
#1
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
BA off duty staff with access to Flight Passenger List on Flight - EU GDP Breach?
On my flight tonight from FRA (Frankfurt) to LHR (London Heathrow), I believe that off duty BA staff breached GDP (Data Protection)
There were 4 BA staff not on duty but sat in CE.
1) One of them (6A) had his IPAD open and i could visually see the list of passengers on his IPAD during Boarding! - If he was not operating crew ... why was he able to access the Passenger List for the flight? Does this not go against EU GDP rules?
2) One of them was leaning over his 5C seatback talking to 6A about what other seats were available in CE as he wanted to sit next to 7F. This was during boarding .... I found this behavior strange
3) 6A then informed 5C that 7D was empty according to the list of passengers seated in CE that he could see on the IPAD ... 6A then proceeded to show the IPAD to 5C
4) 5C then interrupted the boarding passengers to position himself to 7D. There was no communication with the operating crew for this move.
5) 7D then opened up his IPAD and he was looking at the passenger list and pointing to his colleague in 7F to the IPAD and then pointing fingers forward to the seats that these passengers were sat in.
6) After boarding was complete, I walked up to the front galley and raised my data privacy concerns with the CSM/CSD. She was not aware that there were off duty staff in CE, at that point the dispatcher came on board and informed her that there were staff in CE.
7) I informed CSM that i would go back to my seat and could she please check why the non operating staff had access to the passenger list. She said she would. Very pleasant CSM.
8) During the Safety Announcement 7D and 7F continued to talk ..... when one of the crew asked 7F to move her under seat bag further in .. 7F ignored this and after the crew member left .... 7F complained to 7D about being asked to move her bag.
9) After takeoff ... CSM came to me and asked what i would like to drink (i was in 7C) .... After about 10 minutes the CE service started .... 6A was offerred a drink .... he asked what Beer they have .. CSM said Heinekein or Tiger (i think). 6A then asked CSM to get him Tribute from the Galley. 7D and 7F opted for Champagne.
I want to write to BA about this but wanted to get FTers opinions. In my opinion, non operating crew members should not have access to Passenger Information.
PS I am GGL for 5 years
There were 4 BA staff not on duty but sat in CE.
1) One of them (6A) had his IPAD open and i could visually see the list of passengers on his IPAD during Boarding! - If he was not operating crew ... why was he able to access the Passenger List for the flight? Does this not go against EU GDP rules?
2) One of them was leaning over his 5C seatback talking to 6A about what other seats were available in CE as he wanted to sit next to 7F. This was during boarding .... I found this behavior strange
3) 6A then informed 5C that 7D was empty according to the list of passengers seated in CE that he could see on the IPAD ... 6A then proceeded to show the IPAD to 5C
4) 5C then interrupted the boarding passengers to position himself to 7D. There was no communication with the operating crew for this move.
5) 7D then opened up his IPAD and he was looking at the passenger list and pointing to his colleague in 7F to the IPAD and then pointing fingers forward to the seats that these passengers were sat in.
6) After boarding was complete, I walked up to the front galley and raised my data privacy concerns with the CSM/CSD. She was not aware that there were off duty staff in CE, at that point the dispatcher came on board and informed her that there were staff in CE.
7) I informed CSM that i would go back to my seat and could she please check why the non operating staff had access to the passenger list. She said she would. Very pleasant CSM.
8) During the Safety Announcement 7D and 7F continued to talk ..... when one of the crew asked 7F to move her under seat bag further in .. 7F ignored this and after the crew member left .... 7F complained to 7D about being asked to move her bag.
9) After takeoff ... CSM came to me and asked what i would like to drink (i was in 7C) .... After about 10 minutes the CE service started .... 6A was offerred a drink .... he asked what Beer they have .. CSM said Heinekein or Tiger (i think). 6A then asked CSM to get him Tribute from the Galley. 7D and 7F opted for Champagne.
I want to write to BA about this but wanted to get FTers opinions. In my opinion, non operating crew members should not have access to Passenger Information.
PS I am GGL for 5 years
Last edited by BAEC; Apr 19, 2019 at 4:08 pm
Apr 19, 2019, 4:06 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 3,457
Seriously!? I think you have too much time on your hands.
Apr 19, 2019, 4:10 pm
#3
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
Apr 19, 2019, 4:12 pm
#4
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Central Scotland, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 286
Relevant observation - you can usually see BA seatmaps in Expertflyer right up to “doors closed”.
Apr 19, 2019, 4:15 pm
#5
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
Apr 19, 2019, 4:18 pm
#6
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
In my opinion this is busybodying a bit much. On nearly every flight I can usually see a part of the manifest, along with status, while I wait for the lab. Usually it is tucked into a corner of the crew seat. I once spotted a former colleague who was a few rows behind me!
Apr 19, 2019, 4:20 pm
#7
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 3,457
I’m really confused. Please explain to me why this bothers you so much. What’s the issue?
Apr 19, 2019, 4:21 pm
#8
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
Have you actually read the details ? I was not busybodying. This was a CE passneger in front of me who had the IPAD in his hand and the passenger list visible.
Apr 19, 2019, 4:22 pm
#9
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
Apr 19, 2019, 4:23 pm
#10
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
Interesting. You had time to get upset onboard, time to go speak to the CSM, time to memorise what everyone had to drink onboard, time to write a loooong post on here and time to reply to me almost immediately.
I’m really confused. Please explain to me why this bothers you so much. What’s the issue?
And no i was not upset on the flight .... I had a good flight .... I am merely stating facts.
Apr 19, 2019, 4:23 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 3,457
I’m never flying BA again.
Apr 19, 2019, 4:24 pm
#12
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,798
I will put it more gently. You may well have a point that we all need to be very careful handling personal data of any description. But isn't the materiality of this incident fairly low on the scale?
Apr 19, 2019, 4:26 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 3,457
No. He is a member of crew who has clearly signed an agreement with BA as part of his employment contract, which allows him to see passenger information within the confines of GDPR. Many thousands of BA crew have access to this information. Why should he be any different?
Apr 19, 2019, 4:28 pm
#14
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 587
I’m not 100% sure but positioning crew may have access to the PIL via a CSM iPad or Main Crew iPhone that’s currently being trialled.
You can only see flights that you’re ‘operating’ on but I’m not sure the system is sophisticated enough to differentiate between operating and positioning crew. I believe the system grants access on the basis of crew members who have been rostered onto the flight and this will include both operating and pos crew. I’m happy to be corrected on this though.
As for the consumption of champagne etc - this is completely fine provided they obviously don’t have a duty after their positioning sector.
Seems odd that the operating CSM wasn’t aware of them in advance, however last minute changes, especially on short haul, might be to blame for this.
Seat shifting etc, especially during boarding, isn’t ideal but not really the end of the world. It probably could’ve been done more discreetly but to be honest I’ve seen worse behaviour from those on Staff Travel.
You can only see flights that you’re ‘operating’ on but I’m not sure the system is sophisticated enough to differentiate between operating and positioning crew. I believe the system grants access on the basis of crew members who have been rostered onto the flight and this will include both operating and pos crew. I’m happy to be corrected on this though.
As for the consumption of champagne etc - this is completely fine provided they obviously don’t have a duty after their positioning sector.
Seems odd that the operating CSM wasn’t aware of them in advance, however last minute changes, especially on short haul, might be to blame for this.
Seat shifting etc, especially during boarding, isn’t ideal but not really the end of the world. It probably could’ve been done more discreetly but to be honest I’ve seen worse behaviour from those on Staff Travel.
Apr 19, 2019, 4:28 pm
#15
Suspended
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
When i spoke to the CSM, she informed me that only the operating crew should have access to the flight passenger list on their IPAD. I have also checked with a friend who is Cabin Crew and he also confirms that only operating crew have access to flight passenger list. A BA crew member not on duty should not have access to this data. This is the point that I am making.