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Photography at Gatwick Airport station

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Muzer

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I'm pretty sure this guy was talking bollocks - but does anyone have any experience of taking photos at Gatwick Airport station? I was told by a guy in orange high-vis standing my the 442 to "stop taking pictures; it's an airport". Since I had actually just finished taking pictures I didn't object, but am I right in thinking that it's not, in fact, an airport, but Network Rail property (leased to Southern) so unless either of those state photography is prohibited, it would be allowed as normal?
 
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Matt Taylor

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Absolute nonsense, the advice is that you sign in with station staff but there is no legal compulsion to do so. The guy was either ignorant or on a power trip, or both.
 

user15681

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It is prohibited inside the airport and they're normally quite hot on it too. My mother was taking a picture of her granddaughter and was approached by three police officers with semi-automatic weapons asking to see the pictures, telling her she couldn't etc. It was okay when they realised they knew me.

You should be fine at the station though, I'd have thought. Maybe an enthusiastic member of airport staff who forgot the boundary between airport and station?
 

Antman

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I've photographed both trains and planes there without any problem whatsoever. I would have asked this bloke in the orange high viz for his name and put in a complaint about him.
 

Antman

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It is prohibited inside the airport and they're normally quite hot on it too. My mother was taking a picture of her granddaughter and was approached by three police officers with semi-automatic weapons asking to see the pictures, telling her she couldn't etc. It was okay when they realised they knew me.

You should be fine at the station though, I'd have thought. Maybe an enthusiastic member of airport staff who forgot the boundary between airport and station?

Well that's strange when I was in the airport just a few weeks ago there were people taking photographs of friends and relatives and the police didn't bat an eyelid.
 

Muzer

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Ironically I actually have a picture of the guy who told me off. Maybe I'll report this to someone and include it...
 

GatwickDepress

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Like a lazy archer, it is indeed complete bow lax. It's Network Rail property, not the airport's, and so photography therein is okay.

Private security firm, perhaps? They can be pretty overzealous at times.
 

talldave

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Aren't the orange hi-viz guys the train despatchers?

Tempted to take my large telephoto lens on a future trip now ;)!
 

MK Tom

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"stop taking pictures; it's an airport".

Airports being places where photography is completely legal.

This kind of ignorance is disgraceful and any security or other staff that display it need to be properly reported and disciplined. They disrespect and harass transport enthusiasts of all types and achieve nothing in the process.
 

JohnB57

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Airports being places where photography is completely legal.

This kind of ignorance is disgraceful and any security or other staff that display it need to be properly reported and disciplined. They disrespect and harass transport enthusiasts of all types and achieve nothing in the process.
As a photographer, I agree with your sentiments. However, airports are private property and, as such, subject to whatever prohibitions and/or restrictions the owners see fit.
 

Antman

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As a photographer, I agree with your sentiments. However, airports are private property and, as such, subject to whatever prohibitions and/or restrictions the owners see fit.


In an age when nearly everybody has camera phones any sort of ban on photography is a nonsense.
 

MK Tom

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As a photographer, I agree with your sentiments. However, airports are private property and, as such, subject to whatever prohibitions and/or restrictions the owners see fit.

Yeah I'm talking more about the belief that it's illegal. My own Mother thought I had broken the law when I told her I had been photographing planes outside Birmingham Airport. I had to explain that I could just as easily photograph one from my own back garden, although it would be rather higher up.
 

Matt Taylor

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As a photographer, I agree with your sentiments. However, airports are private property and, as such, subject to whatever prohibitions and/or restrictions the owners see fit.

The same as the railway station then, both are private property where public access is granted so photography is permitted unless notices say otherwise (which they do in the case of the security screening areas of the airport).

I've taken tens of thousands of pictures on airport property so it would certainly seem to be legal.
 

Antman

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The same as the railway station then, both are private property where public access is granted so photography is permitted unless notices say otherwise (which they do in the case of the security screening areas of the airport).

I've taken tens of thousands of pictures on airport property so it would certainly seem to be legal.


I'm sure somebody will correct me if I've got this wrong but I was under the impression that railway stations are not private property as such?

Like you I've taken numerous photgraphs in and around airports without any problem at all, even had a friendly wave from police officers at Heathrow:D
 

plannerman

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Indeed there are many well-known areas around Manchester Airport where planes can be photted pretty closely, including the officially-run Airport Viewing Park! They seem to positively encourage interest in planes
 
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