Virtual Airline ‘Walker Air Transport‘ has come under scrutiny after reports from users about harassment. The accusations were made over on Reddit, with more than one user claiming that Walker Air’s owner has accessed the virtual airline’s member data in an attempt to find users’ social media accounts and reach out to them.
In a message posted to Reddit prior to the altercation, Reddit user OceanRadioGuy states he’s been “flying with Walker the last week or so and love the direction and purpose it gives my flights, and smartCARS is so easy to use. I do wish they had more attractive liveries, though“. This message was received by Walker Air owner, Storm, as being “clearly unhappy” and felt it was “another attack” on the virtual airline. Storm then proceeded to look at the pilot roster and find the three newest pilots, then messaged multiple of these users in an attempt to figure out which one of them made the post that was deemed criticizing.
The message sent to OceanRadioGuy, who made these messages and altercation public, starts with Storm trying to confirm the Walker Air pilot ID of the user. OceanRadioGuy in turn states he feels unsafe by Storm figuring out his Reddit account and messaging him. Storm then proceeds to ask if they (Walker Air) should remove OceanRadioGuy from the virtual airline after perceived criticism on the airline.
The interaction sparked a debate as to what data is stored by Walker Air, and how it is being accessed by its owner. The Privacy Policy of Walker Air does mention that data can be accessed for ‘legitimate business interests’, but it does not state that data will be accessed to try and find your (unlinked) social media accounts nor does it provide an explanation of what may be deemed legitimate business interests.
Storm, meanwhile, has taken to Walker Air’s Discord with a public statement and an apology. The statement tries to explain what has happened from Storm’s perspective, and how he used the Walker Air data to attempt to find the Reddit user. Storm has since deleted his Reddit account.
