The number of thefts on board flights to Hong Kong has risen sharply by 164 per cent in the first eight months of the year, with a visitor from Switzerland losing a HK$4.16 million (US$535,320) watch in the largest case.
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The 132 thefts in the period surpassed the number of cases on inbound flights in the whole of last year, prompting police to urge the public to be careful with their belongings.
Police said the biggest theft took place on a Swiss International Air Lines flight on August 30.
“The male passenger placed his backpack, containing one luxury watch worth about HK$4.16 million, inside the overhead compartment above his seat,” a police spokesman said.
He said the victim realised the watch had been stolen shortly after disembarking in Hong Kong.
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The passenger was one of 132 travellers who fell victim to theft on board passenger jets flying into the city between January and August this year, compared with 50 people in the same period in 2023.