In-flight theft is soaring in Asia, police warn

Air passengers hoping to get a nap in might be best advised to keep one eye open and their wits about them, following a warning by Singapore's police that criminal gangs are behind a recent upsurge in reported theft on flights over Asia.

"They will only take some cash and maybe one or two cards. They won’t take your whole wallet, because if they do, it is easier to notice," Malathi Muthu Veran, the city-state’s airport police commander, told local media in late June.

Malaysia and Hong Kong logged hundreds of cases of in-flight theft in 2024, up around 70% on the previous year, while Vietnam and Japan have also seen increases.

But catching an airplane thief is usually not so straightforward: suspects typically work in pairs, booking short-haul flights in and out of a destination before victims notice they have been robbed.

"A timely report is important for our officers to quickly track and trace the suspects and intercept them before they catch their next flight," Malathi said.

According to Nick Careen, a senior vice president at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the rise in onboard theft appears to be "organised" and largely run out of China.

Speaking at the IATA’s recent annual meeting in Delhi, Careen said his organization, which represents around 300 airlines that carry approximately 80% of the world’s passengers, was planning to discuss the matter with governments and law enforcement officials.

"How we deal with that, whether it’s security on board or cooperation from local governments in terms of the appropriate penalties, those are the types of things that we will see come out of this," he said.

Police in Singapore have advised passengers to keep valuables with them rather than putting them in the overhead compartments and to keep an eye out for passengers rummaging through luggage storage areas.

In a June 4 statement detailing the arrests of two Chinese suspects who flew in from Kuala Lumpur two days prior, the Singapore police explained how a vigilant passenger spotted one of the suspects "taking the bag and allegedly hiding the victim's belongings in his jacket before returning the bag to the compartment."