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I’ve shot thousands of images of airliners. Aviation became a lifelong passion when I was a child. I took pictures of planes long before becoming a blogger.
Never did I encounter any pushback taking pictures of planes — including Air Force One twice at then-McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
But that decades-long streak came to end this week — when Israel’s EL AL airlines had some words with me.
Finding a Space to Relax
I flew Delta Air Lines to Los Angeles (LAX) from New York-Kennedy (JFK) after checking out Delta’s great new Terminal 2 at LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
Thunderstorms smacked the New York metro area that evening. Not surprisingly, my flight home to LAX was delayed. (That left me time to enjoy a great meal of miso-glazed garlic chicken thighs and garlic and rosemary potatoes at the American Express Centurion Lounge.)
I arrived at my flight’s gate about five minutes prior to the delayed boarding time. There wasn’t much room available to sit. So, I wandered across the hallway to a gate where a Tel Aviv-bound EL AL Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner finished boarding at a gate normally used for Delta flights. I sat in an available seat, people watched, planespotted, and relaxed.
Lesson Learned
While this blog generally doesn’t cover EL AL, one never knows when we might need a relevant picture. I like having stock images for the blog — especially photos we ourselves shoot.
So, I walked to the window and snapped four or five pictures of the EL AL Dreamliner. I planned to go through them a few minutes later and select one to edit and add to our photo bank.
“Excuse me,” an EL AL employee said after appearing out of nowhere. (I know the Israeli airline’s security is legendary but, darn, this lady was stealth.)
She was not happy with me.
“Would you please not take pictures of the EL AL flight?” she said. The young lady was a good foot shorter than me — but her tone and glare were intimidating.
I really wanted to say (tongue-in-cheek), “Oh, it’s okay. I’m a travel blogger who also writes about credit card and loyalty points.” Something told me her sense of humor didn’t punch in for work that afternoon.
“Sure,” I said instead. Several people in the gate area were now watching the developing situation. (I’m shocked no one pulled out their phone to record it.)
I already knew where this was going. I showed her my iPhone as if to say, No trouble here, ma’am.
“And would you please erase the pictures you already took,” she said. I intentionally omitted a question mark at the end of that sentence. She wasn’t asking me to delete them — she was telling me.
“No problem,” I said. Then she watched me delete each image, one by one.
She gave me a curt “thank you,” and walked back to wherever (the EL AL ninja team clubhouse?).
As I sat down, I noticed a couple of people giving the woman dirty looks. Perhaps they don’t know that EL AL is a bit sensitive when it comes to security.
Her tact could’ve been friendlier (like the people Ben Schlappig encountered — and they let him take pictures!). But maybe she used me as an example to everyone else. While a bit surprised, I didn’t take personally.
After visiting the restroom and returning a couple of minutes later, I sought out an EL AL employee to find out why officially — even though I pretty much already knew — picture taking is verboten.
I spotted my new friend and another EL AL employee sitting on a banister in front of a window. They participated in what appeared to be a somewhat animated conversation. About what, I don’t know. It could’ve been sports, politics, weather, taking pictures of planes…
I walked over to her and smiled. She didn’t.
“Excuse me,” I said, “Just out of curiosity, why was I asked to stop taking pictures?”
“It’s our security procedures,” she answered, nodding and giving me the look. I thanked her, she gave me a “yep,” and that was that. I didn’t ask her name or demand to speak to her manager. No need. International incident avoided.
Look, EL AL has every right to protect themselves. Their home country is in the Middle East — which isn’t exactly known as a peaceful place. (I know some Jewish people here who absolutely hate Israel — mostly because a handful of U.S. politicians and billionaires influence them to do so. But that’s another topic for another time or someone else’s blog altogether.)
But, C’mon.
Taking pictures of EL AL planes from inside airports seems to go a bit far.
Why doesn’t EL AL post any “Don’t Take Pictures” signs? Even though EL AL apparently borrowed a Delta gate in this situation, why not print some out and tape them on the windows if it’s that big of a deal?
Or have a dedicated staff member stationed at windows to warn people before they take pictures? (Maybe EL AL usually does and has staffing issues?)
Or, heck, curtain off all of the windows but one. This way, the general public has a difficult time seeing the plane(s) — and staff can still monitor what’s going on.
How Do You Think I Handled This?
Should I have pushed back and said, “No, I won’t delete the pictures! This is America! Can call my lawyer if you have a problem!”?
Sure, that’s one answer.
I personally know (and respect) some print journalists and photojournalists who would’ve stood their ground.
But it’s not like I desperately needed pictures of an EL AL plane. This, however, was a battle avoided in about five seconds. As you can see from this post, I can license plenty from a stock media service.
Could EL AL or JFK security have detained me? Maybe. I honestly don’t know. My flight home was already delayed. I was eager to see my wife and daughter before they left on a trip the next morning to see family (I started work on client assignments a few hours after arriving home late night in Los Angeles).
Plus, I didn’t want this to turn into a Matthew Klint situation (though I think EL AL would’ve handled this better than United).
By the way, Terminal 4 (where I took the EL AL pictures in question) is privately owned. So, screaming “This is taxpayer property here, lady!” could’ve been embarrassing.
In the end, it’s not that big of a deal (says the guy blogging 1200 words about it).
Post It Anyway!
Several people to whom I relayed the story pointed out that the images were deleted from my iPhone — but not my iCould account. I was encouraged by some to restore the pictures and run them as part of this post.
But I don’t know if that would ever hinder my chances of flying EL AL. (Not that I have any EL AL flights planned.) Plus, my wife’s family and many of our friends are Jewish. Going to Israel is something my family would like to do sometime. Irking the country’s national airline doesn’t seem prudent.
Anyway, I’m curious to hear your thoughts in the below Comments section. Please use your common sense. Any remarks that are racist, attack someone’s religion, etc. will not be allowed.
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If nothing more this serves as a great PSA. Their attention to every single detail (as in no stone left unturned) when it comes to security is why El Al would be my only choice when traveling to Israel.
Absolutely!
**If nothing more this serves as a great PSA.**
Happy to be of service!
The guy is a doo doo head. What if he was a terrorist taking departure times? There is a reason they have never had hijackings or other on El AL. If I were worried about safety (not so sure of luxury) I’d fly El AL, hands down. For what it’s worth, they have the prettiest livery in the industry!
Departure times are listed online and on departure screens. No secrets there. Questionable if they can do this at a public US airport in an area with no expectation of privacy.
I’m kind of 50-50 on this. On the one hand, this is obviously not Israel and our rules apply and not theirs. On the other hand, why be a horse’s backside and cause a problem. As you said, you didn’t need the pictures.
I would imagine there will be those who would love the confrontation because that’s their mindset, and then there are those (like you) who weigh the pros and cons and base their actions on that.
T4 has an explicit rule re: no photography
https://www.jfkt4.nyc/rules-regulations/
Right on! Thanks for reminding us!
Typical garbage guest experience for that airline. Why any non jew would fly them is beyond me.
I am so sorry to hear you anger and see the hatred… ELAL has an amazing service – I flew that route LAX-TLV on many occasions and loved it ! Jewish or not – you’ll get the same service ! Yes – Israelis feel at home on board ELAL … for better or worse ! But the is absolutely nothing to hate !
El Al doesn’t have “an amazing service” lol.
The Israelis constantly complain about the extremely long waiting times and unreasonable prices.
It’s a secure airline, yes, but the offset is that the ticket fares are high (because they in part fund that security).
Security is NOT run by El Al. It’s owned by Israel’s government, so not really something you can relate to in terms of service. And in regards to El Al’s service, it puts to shame anything you’ll find these days in the US…IMHO.
I wasn’t talking about security, though.
I was talking about CUSTOMER SERVICE, long holding times when you call them, which was something so many people complained about that the government literally instructed them to revise their policies.
As for the in-flight service, they introduced a new business class which somewhat improved the atrocious outdated product they had before, but it’s already behind the latest business class offerings.
The US airlines aren’t worse at all, some have private business class suites and better meals.
And even though the security is provided by the state, EL Al still pays for it, and so do their passengers.
Typical dumbass boring anti-Jew talk. Keep it up! Your rhetoric just makes us better/stronger.
@Patrick
So you mean given the rule is a prohibition of photography so you mean 0-100 on this?
I guess Chris can consider himself lucky he did not try to argue when he has no standing.
@ James.. not sure what you mean “0-100 on this” But since there’s a rule (which was unknown at the time) then of course there’s no room even for a discussion. Might be nice of them to post it some where as I’m pretty sure lots of people take pictures of planes all the time.
When you say ‘rule was not known at the time’ that does not mean rule did not exist. Similar to a blogger arguing about an early check-in fee when nowhere in Hilton’s T&C does it say elite members get early check-in.
There is no ground to stand on and one should be humble if one does not know, not be an ‘arrogant American’ as they say.
Better to be arrogant than sanctimonious and smug, right?
Simmer down, you two. Don’t make me pull this thing over and come back there!
I was once in JFK Terminal 2 taking photos of Terminal 4 and planes. The police told me to stop. Not rude, not polite. Maybe a “stop taking pictures”. I said ok and stopped.
If El Al in TLV told me, I would have done what Chris did. At JFK, I would have said “sorry” and walked away quickly, not deleting them.
As for the link in the comments, ” Filming or photographing the interior and exterior of Terminal 4 is not permitted except for the following: “, Chris was not doing that. He was taking pictures of the outside, not the exterior of Terminal 4 (unless the building was in the periphery of his photo).
@derek is right but I’m not surprised that this happened. The Mossad is trained by our DoD, FBI and Secret Service. What’s more, the State of Israel is one our most important allies in the Middle East. Having come close accidentally to running afoul of most of most of these law enforcement agencies while on American soil (especially DoD police), I can tell you that the one shortcoming they have is that they don’t do nuance.
The Mossad is trained by the FBI etc.! Sorry my friend, you have that wrong. The US and many other security agencies are trained by the BEST security service in the world – the Mossad. And you can take that to the bank. BTW, I have photographed ON THE RAMP at Tel Aviv Airport many times over the past 40 years. Everything is possible with the right connections.
So who is the Private Owner of Terminal 4??? and why the No pix rule?? Do lots of celebs or VIP’s come thru there???
Standard 787, or maybe some inconspicuous eavesdropping / ISR antennas or cameras mounted they don’t want people focusing on? (maybe too tin foil hat) Or ground crew operations observations? I haven’t been on their planes yet but would like to sometime in the future and have walked by their T4 gate with plane parked outside several times in the past. Yep, best to just delete and move on.
Now I’m all curious about EL AL security because it sounds so interesting. I think I’m about to go down a YouTube rabbit hole.
Did not know about the T4 rules. If you’re a legit blogger / media, as I believe you are, then you have a right to take pictures for editorial purposes. El Al is not the owner of T4 nor do their staff have the right to force you to delete your images. Nor does the PA have the right to force you to delete images. As a courtesy I probably would have shown the El Al staffer the pics, just basic airplane pictures and stopped taking any more pics. But I would have not deleted them. I wonder if there are signs posted in T4 and or by the El Al gate that state photography is prohibited? Maybe contact the Port Authority and or El Al for a follow-up article on photography at JFK?
@Chris
I agree with Jon; write an article providing guidance for travelers and bloggers on the situation at JFK. Of course other airports would also be appreciated in follow up articles.
I have also been asked to cease taking photos at JFK T4 (3am and very few passengers in sight.) The terminal was busy with cleaning personnel and a large contingency of Port Authorities.
I agree with with your decision and actions Chris. No need to confront personnel just doing their duties as instructed.
Interesting, thanks!
They also didn’t have an obligation to carry him on their flight..
Especially because I wasn’t flying EL AL ;-).
If I were to fly to Israel, which I aspire to do one day,
I would only fly in El Al because of their strict security.
I know many people who have flown El Al and I have heard if you have luggage to check, you have to bring in to a designated location Before the day of your flight . Also, I have heard that there is NO communication by the pilots with the passengers over the PA and you never see the pilots boarding the flight. There are many layers of security
On El Al and they are obviously needed. Therefore, I would feel safest on the Israeli airline. And regarding another person’s remark, saying only Jewish people would fly El Al I find that offensive.
You don’t have to bring your luggage a day before, but at day of flight you will be asked security questions about who packed theme and so on. The pilots does talk over the PA, but you won’t see them boarding.
We are Canadians that travelled to Jamaica. My husband is a small aircraft pilot and took photos of the Air Transat plane because he loves planes. Immediately someone came over and told him to stop taking photos. I think you were being over sensitive with El Al. This is not uncommon.
You don’t need to have your photos linked to your iCloud account to retrieve deleted images – they’re still on your iPhone. Open Photos, choose “Albums” at the bottom of the screen, then scroll down to the very bottom and under “Utilities” there’s a trash can icon labelled “Recently Deleted”. Your El Al plane photos will still be there.
It doesn’t say much for the El Al employee’s training if she didn’t know an iPhone’s deleted photos are still on the iPhone unless they’re also deleted from the “Recently Deleted” folder.
Maybe the staff are just told to have the photographer “delete” the pictures, which is what was done. Both parties complied and the pictures still existed in the camera/cloud. If she was told “to make sure the picture are ‘completely’ deleted” I would think she would have done that.
The issue isn’t the picture of the *plane* itself, you can find it on google. It’s the security procedure and guards that may appear on the picture that they are concerned about. The alertness, and the whole process is the reason why Elal considered to be the safest airline in the world.. I think you reacted properly. I like your blog, so funny!
Sometimes the ElAl people behave like they rule the world. Not only in JFK. Follow the local rules, they do not have special rights outside their country.
But don’t argue with them. It’s senseless.
Just leave the spot and stay happy.
That’s the thing, they fo have spacial rights in some countries protected by laws. That’s why al El doesn’t fly to turkey. Turkey didn’t agree with them spacial arrangements.
“I know some Jewish people here who absolutely hate Israel — mostly because a handful of U.S. politicians and billionaires influence them to do so.”
You’re a travel blogger, not a political commentator, and this ignorant comment shows why. Maybe you should stick to travel blogging and keep the trite, simplistic musings on complex, deeply nuanced issues for somewhere else.
I personally know people who do hold quite negative views of Israel because certain high-profile people encourage them to.
Why so much anger and hate ?! We are a country surrounded by enemies ! We suffered many Terror in the air which made us very suspicious and extra careful ! We care a lot for safety ! I also love taking pictures of airplanes – but if ELAL staff asks you to not take pics of their airplane – it is not to harass you – sheer safety ! And no – ELAL security does not think they rule the world ! Hope to see you on one of ELAL flights and show you what a friendly airline they are !
You were in Las Vegas not in Tel Aviv. You weren’t using a big professional Nikon D750 just snapping shots with your innocent looking iPhone. [Redacted]…what harm would do taking pictures while their freakin’ plane in American soil. Will you give the aircraft’s registration number to the [redacted] terrorists? I wouldn’t delete the pictures unless I’d be boarding their freakin’ airplane.
I was in New York
. Interestingly, aircraft registration is easily obtainable. And I’m more of a Canon guy than Nikon — at least for now.
Jay, El Al counters at the airports, their flights, in addition to many flights in and out of Israel on other airlines, and the airport in Israel have all been targets of terrorists since the 1960s. It is only since Israel and El Al made their security superior to all other airlines and airports in the world that this has stopped happening. You can learn more about the history and need for this level of security here: https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/Maps/Pages/1967-1993-%20Major%20Terror%20Attacks.aspx
Chris, I hope you visit Israel one day soon. It is far safer than the U.S. and an amazing country with everything you could imagine – from ancient history, modern culture & a startup nation, excellent food, beautiful green hills, mountains, desert, and everything in between.
One of my family members went on a Birthright Israel trip and said it was amazing. She raved about the country’s beauty and people. Israel is for sure on our list!
I don’t understand why you felt the need to use the German word for forbidden (verboten) in your blog (as if you somehow wanted to link the Israeli Jews to Germans) or to say how some Jews hate Israel?
Sounds as if you “delicately” wanted to throw some negative political or social connotations at Israel.
As for your “incident”, you didn’t specify whether the woman was a local (American) employee or an actual Israeli from the flight or ground operations.
I can’t speak for the Americans, but with the Israeli woman you absolutely could have argued and insisted that she has no right to determine what pics you should or should not take, let alone whether you’ll delete the ones you did take.
The Israelis are argumentative, but on the plus side you can always argue and fight for your right and it often works.
As an example, I can tell you that the Israelis are FAR more flexible and forgiving of passengers who misbehave on their flights than the Americans (who throw you out of an airplane the moment you swear or raise your voice).
Come on, a high and strong white male could for sure not feel intimidated by some woman lol.
Of course, there is the third factor.
I am not sure if taking pics of planes is at all allowed at the airport or this terminal.
If it’s forbidden, then she did have the right to tell you to stop taking the pics.
**“I don’t understand why you felt the need to use the German word for forbidden (verboten) in your blog (as if you somehow wanted to link the Israeli Jews to Germans)”**
I didn’t even know it was German. True story. I learned something new today. Thank you.
**“…or to say how some Jews hate Israel?”**
What I meant by that statement was I’m surprised some Jewish people (including a few I personally know) who I thought would maybe have a positive or neutral stance toward Israel are incredibly negative toward the country and, unfortunately, seem to find it an enemy. And a lot of their spite seems to have been inspired by people of influence whom they admire saying ugly things about Israel. But I could be wrong. Perhaps my sentence was poorly worded or just could’ve been omitted altogether. Sorry if it troubled you. I meant no harm.
**Sounds as if you “delicately” wanted to throw some negative political or social connotations at Israel.**
Nope. Not at all. You might have missed the part about my marrying into a Jewish family — and how we want to visit Israel.
**As for your “incident”, you didn’t specify whether the woman was a local (American) employee or an actual Israeli from the flight or ground operations.**
She was ground ops. I didn’t ask her nationality.
**I can’t speak for the Americans, but with the Israeli woman you absolutely could have argued and insisted that she has no right to determine what pics you should or should not take, let alone whether you’ll delete the ones you did take.**
I could’ve but decided to call it a day. I didn’t want any problems.
**Come on, a high and strong white male could for sure not feel intimidated by some woman lol.**
That’s so weird. What does race have to do with this?
I didn’t know if she could’ve disrupted my travel plans somehow — gotten the TSA involved, etc. And a couple of stock pictures didn’t seem worth it.
**Of course, there is the third factor. I am not sure if taking pics of planes is at all allowed at the airport or this terminal. If it’s forbidden, then she did have the right to tell you to stop taking the pics.**
I didn’t see any signs prohibiting the practice. That’s not to say there aren’t any. But I didn’t see them if they were there.
There’s a lot of anti-Israel propaganda in the US, and Israel is always a controversial topics.
We’ve been occupying other people for decades now, the conflict is unresolved, there are two parties involved and responsible for that, but Israel is a far stronger and wealthier side that gets support from the US and some people will identify with the underdog, which would be the Palestinians now.
Israel has also shifted to the right and became more nationalist, in some ways it’s turning into a “proper Middle Eastern country” which is the opposite of the vast majority of the American Jews who are liberal and left wing.
The Palestinians have done a good job at linking their cause and propaganda to the progressive causes in the US.
That’s roughly why you see some Jews having negative sentiments towards Israel.
As for the woman, I basically asked if you heard the Israeli accent when she spoke English, or if she sounded native American (or some other accent).
‘The strong white male” was about the privilege, I wasn’t entirely serious, it was a jab both at you and at the “woke people”, you know, white men are the most privileged part of the society etc.
I understand you didn’t want trouble with the local authorities, I for sure would ask her to show me in writing where it says it’s forbidden and if she can’t, then I would treat it differently.
Security or not, she has no right to be arrogant and condescending, and this is coming from an Israeli.
I hope you visit one day, it’s for sure an interesting country, and I hope for the sake of all of us here that we one day solve this conflict.
If she was indeed from secretary (and not just some ill-mannered ground handler), then she was most definitely Israeli.
Security staff are recruited in Israel, since IDF military service is a pre-requirement. After completing training they relocate to their assigned destination.
It’s actually considering quite a good post-discharge occupation. It’s a hard job, but you get to live and work abroad.
Just FYI.
Not necessarily.
El Al has started employing local manpower too (in destination countries).
I’ve noticed this in the past several years.
Well outsourcing is the trend of the day.
It was like that in my time, perhaps it changed. I’d guess NYC would be a logical destination for security outsourcing.
No.
What so you mean “no?’
I’m Israeli, it happened to me already several times that the security staff in airports don’t speak Hebrew.
In Athens and Sofia, for example.
Not sure why my comment wasn’t approved, let’s try again.
I don’t understand why you used the german word for “forbidden” or chose to speak about some American Jews who “hate Israel?’
Was that somehow adding to the story and if it did, then how exactly??
You didn’t say whether the woman was an American, working for El Al, or an Israeli.
I can’t speak for the Americans, but with the Israeli you can argue and not give up easily.
That’s part of the culture and mentality, no need to feel “intimidated.”
If it happened to me, I would refuse to delete the pics I’ve already taken.
Ofc, if there’s a general rule not to take the pics in that terminal, that changes everything, in that case anyone could’ve asked you not to do that, it was nothing special or particular for the Israelis.
*to
“Not sure why my comment wasn’t approved, let’s try again.”
Because I’m working right now and wanted to respond thoughtfully to your comment. So, now your three comments are approved.
I thought that if I can’t see my comment waiting for moderation (as I did after I wrote it) that it means the comment was rejected.
That’s what I meant, not “why is it still not here)
To be honest, if you didn’t write the sentence about some Jewish hating Israel, I would probably address it differently, cause I don’t see how it’s relevant to this.
There’s also a lot of US citizens that have the US, and I don’t see you writing about those in your blog.
Anyway,
Yes, this airline has every right to tell you to stop taking pictures, if they didn’t have the right, the airport itself would have told them they can’t do it.
I suggest you google some of the worst terrorist attacks on EL Al airline and then judge.
And yeah, I prefer you and the other people that never been in a terror attack will be annoyed by the fact that you can’t take pictures (really? Are your children? There are more serious things in life than social media) than the wrong person will take pictures or catch something he shouldn’t catch.
If a security guy/girl tell you to do something, you do it, that’s it.
I’ll say the same thing I told Daniel.
I’m sorry if it troubled you. I meant no harm. What I meant is I’m surprised some Jewish people (including a few I personally know) who I thought would maybe have a positive or neutral stance toward Israel are incredibly negative toward the country and, unfortunately, seem to find Israel an enemy. And a lot of their spite seems to be inspired by people of influence whom they admire saying ugly things about Israel. But I could be wrong.
**There’s also a lot of US citizens that have the US…”**
Indeed.
**”…and I don’t see you writing about those in your blog.**
We’ve touched on it before. But because we focus on loyalty program points and travel, we generally don’t spend much time on social or political issues. We leave that to others.
Back, I think in 1986, I was taking photos on the Pan Am Roof at JFK, of AFR 002 preparing for departure. I ran out of Kodacolor film so had to insert a new film. It was sunny so I covered over myself with a jacket. I had a 200 mm zoom lens & was listening to my scanner with a long antenna Suddenly, at least 4 El Al security appeared with rifles pointed at me, then questioned me. It was a nightmare. It seemed both the Concorde & ELY 744 were departing at 1 pm. My photo shoot was ruined & my nerves were never the same.
Oy vey. That’s a terrible thing. See what happens when a goy tries to take pictures?
Be careful.
I think you handled the situation like any adult should, in a mature and intelligant way. And I also think it’s wonderful unlike your friends, you’ve decided the safety of ELAL passangers is more important to you than posting a couple of pics on your blog. Unfortunately ELAL has to take all kinds of weird and sometimes extreme methods to keep their passangers safe (I once walked over 20 minutes through an empty terminal in London until I found the ELAL gate far far away from literally any other flight), but they work and that’s the most important. So, thank you for taking our well being into consideration!
And also please pass along שבועות שמח (Happy Shavuot) to your Jewish family and friends 
[P.S. for me the cultural shock was seeing how awful security is at airports around the world, which I believe goes to tell you while ELAL’s security might seem very uptight for non-Israelis, it’s very much the norm for a country where you pass security check going to the mall…]
איזה שטויות אתה מדבר! [Editorial Note: Per Google Translate, this means “What nonsense are you talking about!”)
That’s the thing, they fo have spacial rights in some countries protected by laws. That’s why al El doesn’t fly to turkey. Turkey didn’t agree with them spacial arrangements.
Turkey refused to allow Israeli security carry weapons inside the airport. Israel refused to station unarmed security. Israeli are prohibited by law from fly to unsecured destinations.
That’s the full story why there are no LY, 6H or IZ flights to Turkey and TK rules supreme.
I remember many moons ago when the old Commuter terminal at ORD was colocated with Butler Aviation. The old International terminal was right across the alley from us. At the time, I worked ramp and ran bags for ZW. We had to drive down to the end of the International terminal and hang a left to get to Crash Alley, the string of baggage drops at various carriers.
One memorable day, there was an El Al flight at one of the gates. I merrily toodled my way down the finger to make the left turn and for some reason, I looked up at the building. I was a bit disconcerted to see someone in light colored clothing and dark sunglasses watching me quite closely with an automatic gun held generally pointing my way.
You can be damned sure I stayed WAYYY OVER on the other side of the alley when there was an El Al flight in the gate.
Wow!
Such a cool story! I always find it disconcerting knowing that a gun is pointed at my while I work. Even after 8 years of working at TLV ground ops.
I once had the pleasure of having a German APC-mounted machine gun pointed at me while boarding a TLV-bound flight with a German carrier (AeroLoyyd RIP) at MUC.
After the Munich Olympics, Germans take security of Israelis VERY seriously.
hi Chris. please let me explain this no picture decree… You can take as many pictures of the AC as you want, the only forbidden target is the way of the handling. Since the security measures are strict and certain layouts are followed during groundtime, its just the thing: no pictures where officers, procedures or layouts can be documented. We just want to make sure that the way our security works will not be a subject of further investigation and if it is, at least we can make it more difficult by not letting pictures taken.
The lady was not precise and most probably too harsh in her way of communication but thats the way we do it :-). I really hope that this explanation will help in erasing this single bad experience and maybe we can welcome you on board of ELAL and in our beautiful country some day.
Thanks for the explanation, Julia! Now I’m even more interested in flying EL AL, just to see all the security parts (or, actually, probably not being able to see them
) in motion.
That is the way we ourselves create thousands of anti-semites a day ! בושה [Editorial Note: Per Google Translate, this means “Shame.”)
As a proud Jew I do admire Israeli security and defense but sometimes people forget Who is actually protecting us.
While I love flying Delta to Israel and do so more now because it’s more affordable because of the status I have with Delta, I have loved flying El Al when I had the opportunity to do so, they are a great airline. I think you should try them sometime.
You absolutely did the right thing by diffusing an unnecessary situation by keeping your cool and complying to a security concern of an airline which has the highest security standards in this world. The irony is that hundreds and thousands of similar pictures are taken by passengers and crew from within aircraft that are parked, arriving or departing from the terminal/ airport. So I really don’t understand the fuss.
This lady suffers from the typical “Israeli Peacock Syndrome” or “Do you know who you are talking to Syndrome”, in Hebrew it is called “Hutzpah”, just trying to show her Israeli secret service boss that she is working hard. In one or two months she will get calmer and photographing ELAL planes will go unnoticed as it is here at Ben Gurion Airport or any other airport around the world.
Orrrrr she’s just a bit tired of being asked the same question over and over again, especially when she cannot discuss security operations or reasoning with random people.
Just a thought.
And also, regarding photography at TLV – that’s exactly why all external windows are completely dotted. It makes taking sharp photos of the outside almost impossible. Instead of securing staff running around asking people to stop taking photos – they implemented a technological solution. The same thing with not taking your shoes off at TLV – technology made that redundant.
I would say you handled this gracefully and with a good sense of your environment. As a journalist, I’m not sure the airline had legal ground to ask you to stop taking pictures. Perhaps. I’d have to wonder if it would rely on airport policy, not the policy of any one airline. Regardless, I say you were wise to treat this as you did. We live in an era of short-fuses, and I’m not referring to the kind that are attached to explosives.
I would have told ELAL to pound sand. This is AMERICA we have rights. Personally I would never fly them or visit their country. Several years ago a co-worker was attempting to fly them to Tel Aviv on vacation. She got pulled into secondary screening and damn near strip searched before boarding. She was cleared to fly eventually but she was so humiliated she ended up cancelling the trip.
So yea if I was not flying them, I would tell them to f-off. Then I would take a picture of her.
There is always a reason why these things happen, both philosophically and practically. And it happens with the TSA too by the way.
Hi everyone, I would like to comment a few things based on my own experience as a (former) EL AL employee.
Firstly, Chris, you were not a passenger on that flight, and as such, you represented a higher security threat – hence the “colder” shoulder and the stricter attitude. Were you indeed a passenger on that flight (and yes, security staff can differentiate), you would have been treated differently. Ben Schlappig WAS a passenger on an LY flight and thus received a more lenient approach.
Secondly, when one takes a photo of a flight during boarding, it’s not only the aircraft that will be in the frame – it will also include the positions of the security personnel guarding it (and yes, it is ALWAYS guarded), the external security devices installed on the outer skin of the aircraft and so on… So, the request to delete the photos (especially given the fact that LY security didn’t get a chance to screen you), was very reasonable.
Thirdly, regarding the security costs – the State of Israel subsidiaries 97.5% of the yearly $250 million pricetag of securing all Israeli carriers overseas (not just LY, but also Israir and Arkia). A recent calculation published in the media here, in Israel, estimated that every Israeli household contributes every year ₪375 (~$110) in order for random people to be asked to delete their photos of LY aircraft.
Safe Flying Everyone!
Thank you, David, for the explanation!
Thanks for sharing your “trip” or “dream” or whatever you want to call your hallucination.
Okay, okay, okay, gentlemen. Please go to your neutral corners and cool off before I have to turn off the comments.
Hahaha.
I still stand by what I said: she was arrogant, overstepped her authority, and I wouldn’t have given up so easily (meaning, I wouldn’t have deleted the photos I already took,)
They have massive security issues and the configuration of their aircraft is probably one of the measures used to help mitigate the threat. Get over yourself.
I think you did the right thing. Because of their security concerns, it was right to be respectful! Good job & one day go and enjoy Israel!
El Al has great customer service? Did I read that right? They may be many things but I have never heard anyone say they have excellent customer service. I’ve flown them three times and that was enough for me.
I like flying them although i usually don’t because of my preference for choosing Delta.