At least two passengers on a South African Airways flight headed to Hong Kong from Johannesburg alleged that they were robbed of money and other valuables while on board.
Cabin crew were told by some passengers during the flight on Monday that their valuables, stowed in the overhead compartments, had gone missing, reports South Africa’s TimesLive.
SAA spokesman, Tlali Tlali, confirmed that an incident happened on flight SA 286 on Monday. He said, “While still en route to Hong Kong‚ two passengers approached our crew complaining that they had lost their valuables (money and a watch).”
“One of the complainants was able to point out a few passengers who had behaved in a suspicious manner in the cabin and who were seen opening some overhead compartments while other passengers were sleeping.”
“The crew alerted the authorities in Hong Kong and police boarded the aircraft when it landed.
“The rest of the passengers disembarked and suspects identified were ordered to remain in the aircraft and were searched by the police in Hong Kong‚” said Tlali.
Tlali added that nothing was found on the suspects, thus they had to be released.
The alleged stolen items were later recovered by the cleaning staff. They were found on the seats in the same cabin. The items have since been returned to the complainants.
