Keeping safe from turbulence and thieves

Here’s another thing to worry about when flying.

I STOPPED making New Year’s resolutions a couple of years ago as I was just so bad at keeping them.

But what I do at the beginning of every year is to think of where I want to go for my holidays. I love travelling but it also means getting on aeroplanes and that increasingly is a pain.

My stress level starts from the time I start packing. What to put in my check-in luggage and what to carry on-board. You know the drill: no liquids that exceeds 100ml and nothing that can ignite in the hold, like power banks.

What also stresses me is waiting to see who I end up sitting next to. On short flights, I prefer the aisle seat as it means I can get out fast but for long flights, I will choose the window seat as I feel it’s more secure and comfortable.

And I don’t have to contend with my fellow passenger climbing over me to go to the loo. I prefer to do the climbing but I try to be good and go only when absolutely necessary.

But whether aisle or window, you want to be seated next to someone who is friendly but not intrusive, who won’t fight with you over the armrest, and who doesn’t snore or is prone to flatulence.

Once I am all nicely settled in, I try not to think about scary stuff that can happen when you fly.

Instead, I hope for good service and decent food, but most of all, an experienced pilot who isn’t under any sort of “influence”.

My comfort level increases when I hear a calm voice over the PA system introducing himself as the captain, naming his key crew members, and assuring his precious human cargo that all looks good, especially the weather.

That, however, is no guarantee to a smooth, bump-free flight. Turbulence can happen in clear skies and is the most common cause of injury to air passengers. Thankfully, the numbers are pretty low.

According to reports, about 60 people are injured by turbulence annually in the US. But two-thirds are flight crew members who run the highest risk because they are either standing or walking on a plane. That works out to about 20 out of the 800 million people or so who fly each year.

Pilots will tell you that turbulence can be scary and uncomfortable but not dangerous. It is part and parcel of flying, like bumps on the road.

Knowing that the plane won’t fall out of the sky when turbulence strikes and my stomach lurches has made me less likely to panic. Still, if you are thrown about in the air, the injuries can be severe. So I know the responsibility is mine to reduce the risk by religiously wearing my safety belt when I am seated.

That is so simple to do but I have seen many passengers who unbuckle once the seat belt sign goes off.

If I have to make a visit to the toilet, I try to be fast as I feel I am most vulnerable when I am in that tiny cubicle.

When I fly, I try my best to be model passenger. I will dutifully turn off my mobile, store my bags in the overhead bins or under the front seat, and be considerate to the passengers seated next to me, in front and behind.

I will fervently hope that others around me will do the same. After all, a few hundred people are in a shared space and everyone wants an uneventful flight.

Of course, I have had my share of flying with seat-kickers and other thoughtless types, but I have been spared from headline-making inci- dents like brawls and bad behaviour by drunken passengers that can cause a flight to be diverted.

While I am mindful of my physical safety, I admit I have been less so with the security of my belongings. I have left my handbag under the front seat when I went to the loo because I assume it’s safe as my neighbour passenger looks honest.

That must now change. The latest reports show commercial flights, especially those originating from certain Asian cities like Hong Kong and Beijing and the Middle East, have become ripe pickings for thieves.

On Dec 29, a dozen or so passengers had their cash stolen on a Hainan Airlines flight from Beijing to Prague.

The victims, mostly Chinese, had placed their money – foolishly I would think – in seat pockets and in their unlocked luggage in the overhead bins.

The thieves would have gotten away with it if not for a passenger who sounded the alarm after discovering her money missing half an hour before the plane landed.

Other passengers checked their belongings and many found their money, ranging from US$240 to US$5,000, gone too.

The thief was caught but his two accomplices got away as they were believed to have transferred to flights to Belarus.

modus oper

Apparently that is the

andi:

the thieves, who know how to blend in, usually work in pairs, with one doing the stealing while the other acting as the lookout.

Just two days earlier, a Chinese national stole US$2,000 from a fellow passenger on a flight from Hong Kong to Brunei and got sentenced to eight months’ jail.

South China

According to a

Morning Post

report, airlines cannot be held responsible and the cabin crew does not have the power to search suspects on the plane.

But as an airport security expert tells SCMP, “a padlock would eliminate 80% of (such) crimes”.

Now that everyone can indeed fly, including thieves, it will be up to me to keep myself and my belongings safe. On my next flight, I fully intend to keep my seat belt on and my bags locked too. And trust no one.