Rising in-flight thefts trigger ‘growing concern’ among Asia-Pacific airlines: aviation body

A rise in in-flight thefts has triggered “growing concern” among airlines based in the Asia-Pacific 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), told the Post during the AAPA Annual Assembly of Presidents in Brunei earlier this week that 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 said.

“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.”

In Hong Kong, police recorded a 75 per cent increase in crime on flights bound for the city to 207 cases in the first 10 months of this year from the same period last year.

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.