As if we didn’t have enough to worry about when flying, a new wrinkle appears. A pickpocket seems to have struck sleeping business-class passengers aboard an Air France flight.
From a passenger’s point of view, pickpockets on planes are no different than pickpockets in crowds. The airline bears no responsibility for carry-on luggage nor for any cash or other valuables carried by passengers and kept in their care.
Five Air France business-class passengers on a flight from Tokyo to Paris reported they had their pockets picked while sleeping on the overnight flight, according to the airline.
The incident was reported to the French border authorities, who were waiting for the Air France 777 when it arrived Tuesday morning at Charles de Gaulle airport. No one has been taken into custody.
The paper said around EUR4,000 euros (USD$5,744) appeared to have been stolen from five business class passengers as they slept on the overnight flight.
“On this flight, which takes off from Tokyo Narita at 10 pm, passengers often sleep deeply before waking up shortly before arriving in Paris at around 4 am,” Le Figaro quoted one of the alleged victims as saying.
Let this be a wake-up call.
Stay aware of personal possesions while flying. Whatever carry-on is lost or damaged is clearly the passenger’s responsibility.
Far too often, passengers leave pocketbooks, ipods, headphones etc. unattended and very often they do nothing to secure purses with passports and cash.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
