SAA Passenger Says Robbed Midair on Asia-Bound Flight

Passengers on flights to Asia are allegedly being targeted by thieves midair, and Hong Kong police say that as much as $4.5 million has been stolen from international passengers in less than a year, according to news reports.

SAA is reportedly investigating claims by a passenger from Johannesburg to the Chinese city that he had R30,000 ($1 200 and £420) stolen from his bag on the flight, and there have apparently been similar incidents like this, not just on SAA. The robberies – which have apparently been hitting airlines from numerous countries for several years now – mostly affect flights heading for Asia, according to the reports.

The Hong Kong police said that as much as $4.5 million worth of money and goods had been stolen in the year up to September 2015, double the amount stolen the previous year, according to one newspaper. One passenger from United Arab Emirates who was flying business class on Etihad apparently had $30,000 taken from the overhead locker.

The Johannesburg passenger apparently reported the theft to the Hong Kong police. Security personnel were reported to have done a check of passengers before they left the plane, but the passenger said he believed there was more than one person involved and they passed the items back and forth between each other.