The pilots of a recent Swiss International Airlines flight face serious disciplinary action after they allegedly recorded two passengers taking part in a lewd sex act in the First Class galley before sharing the video with their friends in a WhatsApp group chat.
Unfortunately for the pilots involved, the video of the libidinous couple soon started to be shared around the airline before making its way into message groups that had nothing to do with the Swiss flag carrier.
The overly aroused passengers were secretly filmed during a flight from Bangkok to Zurich in late November when they decided to take their moment of passion into the forward galley of a Swiss Boeing 777-300, which is located in front of the luxurious First Class cabin.
Although there were no flight attendants or passengers in sight in the galley, unbeknownst to the couple, the galley was still being looked over by several closed-circuit surveillance cameras that are designed to monitor the area to control access into the secure cockpit.
As the pair started to engage in oral sex, their antics were spotted by the pilots on the monitor on the flight deck. But rather than calling a flight attendant to deal the situation, one of the crew whipped out their mobile phone and started to record the scene unfolding on the monitor.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the airline has taken a pretty dim view of the behavior of its crew, and a spokesperson says an internal investigation is already underway.
“We expect our pilots to devote themselves fully to the safe flight of their aircraft during their work,” a spokesperson told the German language aviation news site AeroTelegraph.
“Filming people without their clear consent and passing on the recordings contradict the guidelines, values, and data protection regulations.”
In fact, the recording not only contradicts the airline’s internal values but could also represent a violation of Article 28 of the Swiss Civil Code, which generally requires permission to be gained before a photo or video is taken of someone in a public place.
Although this isn’t a criminal offense, the victims could seek monetary damages for having their privacy violated.
While Swiss has reserved most of its ire for the crew involved in taking and sharing this video, the airline has also slammed the passengers involved for their “unacceptable” behavior.
The fact that this incident occurred on a flight that originated in Bangkok will not, however, shock many airline crews who have endured these flights.
Last August, a group of Swiss Air flight attendants landed themselves in hot water when they were caught on camera taking part in a so-called ‘wing walk,’ posing for photos as they walked on the wing of a Boeing 777-300 on the ground at Buenos Aires.
The airline’s chief of cabin crew told flight attendants that he was “angry and disappointed” with the actions of the crew involved after they took part in the unauthorized photo shoot.
Swiss prohibits flight attendants from ‘wing walking,’ although their actions wouldn’t likely have come to light if it wasn’t for the fact that they did it while the plane was parked at the gate while passengers were waiting to board.
At the time, a spokesperson for the airline said the stunt was potentially “life-threatening.”
“A fall from that height onto the hard surface can be devastating. This behavior will not be tolerated,” a statement from the carrier continued.
