Ever had anything stolen in flight?

[david-au-2000]

Talking with seatmate on a QF fight last week and she said she once had a laptop stolen during a flight! Wasn't on QF, but she says she was using her MacBook Air for a bit of the flight, put it up in her carry-on bag in the overhead bin and then went to sleep, when she got off at the other end and got to her hotel she went to pull out the MBA for her hotel reservation and the MBA wasn't there.

She had the bag with her the whole time from leaving the plane, went straight from luggage carousel to customs and into the car waiting at arrivals so the MBA could only have been nicked during the flight. Of course with the MBA being so light you would not even notice it not being in your bag unlike a bigger laptop.

Saw a story in the Age a while back about a thief caught on Air France who was nicking stuff from passengers, in business class no less!

Anyway has anybody here ever had stuff stolen during a flight?

 

[tuapekastar]

Not that I'm aware of, but I'm certainly aware of the possibility, though I don't take any specific precautions. I actually prefer to leave valuables that I'm not using in the bag, as I suspect there'd be less chance of me losing them. I guess a lock on the carry on bag may make some people (me included) sleep easier.

 

[markis10]

Timely question given the articles and warnings issued yesterday and now picked up locally:

Singapore police warned yesterday that members of a Chinese crime syndicate were believed to be stealing money from the bags of passengers while they slept on flights to and from the country.
Eighteen reports about in-flight thefts have been filed so far this year, up from only one in 2011, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Sam Tee, head of the airport police division.
"Investigations revealed that some of the thieves are suspected to be syndicate members from China working in groups of three to four individuals per flight," Tee said.

Read more: Crime gang targets sleeping passengers on Singapore flights
​

 

[david-au-2000]

Now that's scary! A crime gang running an inflight theft operation instead of just some randoms, yikes!

 

[SeatBackForward]

I'm not surprised if this were starting to become more prevelant.

On an aside, when I was travelling with family in India a while ago (15+yrs ago but equally applicable now) on an overnight bus out of Bangalore out to the rural areas...my cousin found that her suitcase, kept in the overhead storage rack, had been broken into, had valuables removed, and the suspected thieves quietly alighted at some point in the night. From this incident Ive always taken to the habit of locking my bags, even carry ons on flights where I'll be asleep - SYD-PER included.

Its not unusual, in fact quite common, to see bags and suitcases, tied with chains onto racks, poles, seats, anything fixed on trains and buses in India. The obvious disincentive of an plane is that its not easy to walk off with a whole bag mid-flight! but given that overhead racks are not locked in any manner, and if someones asleep, you can surely open the rack, remove a bag, fiddle with its contents, replace it, all going unnoticed with the background hum of the engines..

 

[harvyk]

Never had anything stolen, but anything of real value does not leave my person (so money and passport). I used to place my laptop at my feet for this reason but got sick of having no foot space. That said my laptop is hardly anything flash, so I doubt it would be a target. It's also not in any "special" sort of bag which may indicate to people I have something of value.

 

[jb01]

Hasn't ever happened to me, but will definitely locking carry on from now on. Laptop is usually in overhead as I don't use it in flight, ipad in seat pocket or in use.
Anyone heard of ipad/laptop/phone etc being nicked from seat pocket? Say when you get up to go to the loo?

 

[futurism]

Hasnt happened to me, but a few years ago coming back from London where you get two hours in Singapore, they told people to leave their stuff on the plane, especially because of the additional liquid check station delays.
When I got back on a few people around me claimed to be missing things including cameras and handheld gaming device.

 

[kpc]

I will need to review my travel security!! I recently had a long chat to a member who had his bag stolen (including all travel documents and passport) whilst overseas, and it was not a pleasant or cheap experience:shock::evil:. My most vulnerable time is when I'm travelling to / from the airport esp. in a foreign city when I have everything on me:shock:....I'm thinking of using a money belt again as much as i hate it. I think I will be locking my carry on from now on onboard planes, and will stop my lazy habit of leaving my carry on unattended when I grab some food / drink in airport lounges.

 

[Must...Fly!]

As someone who only infrequently visits lounges, I've always been fascinated at people freely leaving their belongings at a table.

I suppose there isn't much choice when travelling solo though, can't do the roll on, food plate (or two ) and drink!

 

[LiamR]

I've heard stories of wallets and small valuables being stolen on domestic aircraft here in Australia.

Manifest handed over to police, police searched the names on the manifest and found one had a history of theft, rocked up to his house, found stolen goods in house, returned to passengers the following day.

I'm always a little weary of leaving my iPad on me seat or in my seat pocket while I go to the bathroom...

 

[markis10]

As someone who only infrequently visits lounges, I've always been fascinated at people freely leaving their belongings at a table.

I suppose there isn't much choice when travelling solo though, can't do the roll on, food plate (or two ) and drink!

How true, and you would think your ultra book would be safe on a table directly under a security camera while you took 5 minutes to get some pizza, apparently not!

 

[SeatBackForward]

How true, and you would think your ultra book would be safe on a table directly under a security camera while you took 5 minutes to get some pizza, apparently not!

Cameras are only good *if* someones watching, and even then whats the point of retrospective "oh yeah we can see the moment when it was stolen"...

 

[markis10]

Cameras are only good *if* someones watching, and even then whats the point of retrospective "oh yeah we can see the moment when it was stolen"...

They are a good for evidence if turned on, which in the case of my notebook in the QP a few years ago now, was not the case!

 

[Maca44]

I thought I had my passport stolen about three years ago when travelling in 3A SYD-SFO, but realised I usually keep everything on my person. When I realised it could not have been stolen, I searched everywhere, and then noticed a small gap next to the window area where I had been filling out immig forms. Told FA's of my suspicions and when arrived at SFO, engineers took about 20mins to retrieve it. Lesson: use table to fill out forms.

 

[AusTim]

Did have my dignity stolen when flying 1C on MH in F, when MH had F on the 772. Shattered a royal doulton (fire/ice series?) champagne flute all over the carpet when attempting to vacate my seat.

Joking aside, thank you for starting this thread. I suppose one needs to be more pragmatic when travelling.

 

[kppies]

A family member had a jacket stolen from the overhead bin on a MEL-OOL Jetstar flight last year. She didn't realise until most of the people on the plane had already disembarked - assuming one of us had grabbed it for her. We tried lost property to no avail. Just goes to show that it's not just high-value items that are targeted.

 

[Must...Fly!]

There is the chance someone took it by mistake and didn't realise...

 

[Paladin]

Many years ago after boarding a Qantas flight SYD to London my "manbag" was stolen . At the time I was putting carry on in the overhead locker having put said bag on my seat next to my wife.
Other boarding passengers were walking past me down the aisle. One of them must have picked up the bag as they past while I was distracted .
I noticed it missing almost immediately & notified a nearby flight attendant who immediately arranged a PA announcement about a missing bag.
What I found interesting was as soon as the announcement was made flight attendants went straight to the toilets.
Within minutes the bag, containing Passports,money etc, was returned intact by a flight attendant.
They explained to me later that it was standard procedure to immediately check toilets as thieves invariably go straight there to rifle through the stolen item.
It appears the thief abandoned the bag on hearing the announcement as it was found intact in the nearest toilet to our seats.
A lucky eascape for me & a lesson learned.

 

[blueflamenco]

I've always been a little concerned about the security of my belongings but hesitate to take them with me when leaving my seat briefly at a lounge or in flight for fear of insulting others... What would it say to your seat mate if you packed up your things and padlocked your carry on prior to a bathroom visit? I want to believe in the honesty and goodness of others and would rather give others the benefit of the doubt. Stories like those above, especially the one about an organised gang of thieves is concerning however.