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Airplane Pickpocket Robs Sleeping Passengers of Over $5,500

January 7, 2010 at 1:08 PM | by | Comment (1)

What a travel season it has been this winter, huh? Jeez—so much news, and most of it horrible. Well the bad news train keeps chugging along with the alert that yesterday, a thief on an Air France pickpocketed sleeping passengers in business class, making off with over $5,500.

The flight, a direct between Tokyo-Narita and Paris-Charles de Gaulle, is one where flying through the night usually sends passengers into a deep sleep, especially when we're talking biz class with their larger seats and extra perks. According to MSNBC, an alarm was raised while the plane was still in the air, when a passenger awoke to find over 3,000 Euros ($4,300) missing from her purse. Who carries that kind of cash in their purse, anyway? Oh yes—people flying business class between Paris and Tokyo.

Although police were waiting when the airplane arrived at CDG, no suspect was apprehended and Air France holds to their policy that passengers are responsible for their own belongings in the cabin. All in all, five passengers were robbed mid-flight. We're tempted to side with the airline on this one, since—duh—being in business class doesn't mean everything is safe and you can be careless with your purse—but still, shouldn't the flight crew have spotted something out of the ordinary?

Perhaps it's time again to review our guide to keeping your passport safe. What do you think?

Related Stories:
· Airline pickpocket strikes as passengers sleep [MSNBC]
· Air France says pickpocket case 'very rare,' won't cause change [Biz Week]
· Crime in Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Archie McPhee Seattle]

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Is it worth the grief?

From rising prices to delays, being in close proximity with complete strangers for extended periods of time. Poor lavatory options and people with terrible personal hygiene. It's a wonder air travel is still so popular. There seem to be so many other ways of getting from A to B, particularly in Europe that you can avoid a lot of grief just by taking a bus, train, car hire, ferry, cruise. They might not always get you there as quick but don't they say the journey is half the adventure?
Ramblin Man on January 12, 2010 at 11:23 AM #Permalink

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