Charlotte Foster
Travel Tips

The unusual items passengers are stealing from planes to sell online

A flight attendant has revealed one of the main items passengers on planes are trying to take home with them after their journey.

In a column for The Sun, a cabin crew member shared that passengers are trying to take lifejackets home with them after their journey and sell them online. 

"If you have even just a quick glance at eBay, you'll see loads of people flogging them on there, for sometimes as much as £100 ($174.65 AUD) a pop, so it's easy to see why people take them," they said.

According to the columnist, it is the worst thing to take from a plane. 

"If the flight after yours has to land in the sea, then you're quite literally putting someone's life at risk, which seems a little unfair for the sake of £100 ," they said.

Flight attendants are also able to track down who stole the lifejackets after they go missing, given they keep a record of where passengers are seated.

The airline could also cop a hefty fine for not having adequate safety equipment on board if an auditor found out, which the culprit would have to pay for. 

According to the flight attendant, another item which often goes missing are the safety cards.

While taking these information cards is not as life-threatening as taking a lifejacket, it is still not ideal. 

"These are mostly taken by aviation geeks who collect them from each plane they go on. I'm not sure why, but it's a bit annoying to have to go round and replace them, which often ends up being my job," the flight attendant said.

The cabin crew member reinforced that while a passenger is paying for a flight, some items are not designed to be taken home as souvenirs, specially when it might be needed to save someone else's life.

Image credits: Getty Images

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travel tips, planes, lifejacket, flight attendant, stealing