Exclusive | Rising in-flight thefts trigger growing concern among Asia-Pacific airlines: aviation body
Hong Kong police are also battling growing trend, noting 75 per cent increase in crime on city-bound flights in first 10 months of year
An increase in the number of in-flight thefts has fuelled “growing concern” among airlines based in the Asia-Pacific region and become the subject of industry discussion, an aviation body has said, adding aircrew are now more watchful for any suspicious behaviour.
Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA), said its carriers were on guard against criminal syndicates working together to target passengers’ property.
“There is a rising trend of in-flight thefts. From what we know, they are all global syndicates working with each other and targeting certain routes for wealthy customers,” he told the Post earlier this week during the AAPA Annual Assembly of Presidents in Brunei.
“They know which routes these people are travelling, and they also know which classes of travel, and they have these guys who go on board and steal things. It’s a growing concern for airlines.”
One case involved a passenger losing a watch worth HK$4.16 million (US$535,320) on a Swiss International Air Lines flight in August.
