Airline defends recording customers by CCTV onboard its planes

The airline denied recording passengers via seatback entertainment system cameras

Cathay Pacific has defended its use of customer data (Getty Images)

An airline has defended its collection of customers’ personal data as it admits to recording passengers when they’re onboard the aircraft.

Cathay Pacific has updated its privacy policy to say it will collect and process information such as “use of our inflight entertainment system and inflight connectivity” and “images captured via CCTV in our airport lounges and aircraft”.

The reason for the CCTV capture, according to the carrier, is for “security purposes”.

The new privacy policy follows a massive data hack for the airline. Last year, Cathay Pacific warned that some 9.4 million customers may have had their personal data stolen. The breach included passport details and credit card numbers, although the airline said that it had found “no evidence that any personal information has been misused”.

There are only 7.5 million residents in Hong Kong, where the airline is based. The breach is equivalent to every resident having their data stolen more than once.

Meanwhile, the carrier denied that its onboard entertainment systems had seatback cameras or microphones installed in them.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Our inflight entertainment systems do not have any cameras, microphones or sensors to monitor passengers, nor have they in the past.”

In February, three of the world’s biggest airlines admitted that some of their planes had seatback cameras installed in the entertainment systems.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have new seat-back entertainment systems that include cameras. It’s possible that they could be on planes used by other carriers.

In its privacy policy, the airline also says it will share customer data with “government and regulatory bodies and other individuals, bodies and organisations” – either for for its “legal obligations”, or for the general “reasons of safety and security” regarding “legal and administrative purposes”.

The airline defended its use of personal data in its statement.

“We will retain the personal data as long as is necessary to fulfil business needs. The information that is no longer needed is either irreversibly anonymised or securely destroyed.

“In line with standard practice and to protect our customers and frontline staff, there are CCTV cameras installed in our airport lounges and onboard aircraft (one camera, positioned near the cockpit door) for security purposes.

“All images are handled sensitively with strict access controls. There are no CCTV cameras installed in the lavatories.”