Specifically, on a flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City in mid-2023, the chief flight attendant noticed a suspicious individual moving towards the aisle and picking up a black bag at row 19. The chief flight attendant was alert, actively questioned and promptly prevented this person from carrying out any malicious acts.
Afterwards, another passenger in seat 19A confirmed that it was their bag. Fortunately, all luggage remained intact. The flight crew alerted the system about the suspicious individual.
A passenger stowing their carry-on luggage on a plane. (Illustrative image)
The second incident occurred on a recent flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City, when a group of about 4-5 people regularly moved and changed seats in the passenger cabin, transferring their luggage from one storage compartment to another and trying to divert the attention of flight attendants.
Recognizing the suspects’ suspicious behavior, the flight attendant team assigned one flight attendant to observe this group, questioning them every time they moved or retrieved their luggage. As a result, the flight went smoothly and no passengers reported any missing belongings.
Vietnam Airlines states that individuals with a history of theft on an aircraft will be placed on the airline’s blacklist or watchlist throughout the entire reservation, ticketing, and ground service systems. The flight crew will generate a violation report, confiscate any evidence, and hand over the suspect to the appropriate authorities for legal processing if any theft is detected on board.
However, to prevent the loss of belongings on an aircraft, passengers need to be proactive in carefully safeguarding their personal belongings. It is advisable to use carry-on bags with locks and keep luggage within sight.
Passengers should immediately notify a flight attendant to take timely action if they detect any suspicious individuals who change seats without authorization, rummage through luggage compartments, or prevent other passengers from accessing their belongings.
It is also helpful to use measures such as labeling luggage with stickers or tags that include one’s name, phone number, and address, which helps minimize lost or mistakenly taken luggage.
Recently, Vietnam Airlines has announced that, in order to meet the demands of passengers and national tourism, it will double the frequency of flights compared to the current schedule, increasing the number of flights from Hanoi to Dien Bien to 2 flights per day during the period from March 6th to March 30th, 2024.
The airline will operate flights VN1804 and VN1806 departing from Hanoi at 13:05 and 14:05, and flights VN1805 and VN1807 departing from Dien Bien at 14:40 and 15:40.
