Thai Airways Passenger Says $3,500 Was Stolen From Overhead Bin — Believes He Was Drugged And Crew Was In On It

An original FlyerTalk member whom I’ve known for nearly 25 years says he and his wife had $3,500 in cash stolen from their carry-on bags while they slept aboard Thai Airways flight TG900 from Bangkok to Istanbul. Another couple began shouting about their own missing money as soon as the aircraft door opened. He then collapsed outside the airport police station and was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage. He believes that passengers were drugged, and that Thai Airways employees were working with the thieves. He’s an extraordinarily experienced traveler. He’s taken more than 5,000 flights, and has been known to many well-respected people in the frequent flyer community for decades. His family was returning home from Bangkok to Istanbul last month. They were seated in economy, and a female flight attendant began aggressively warning passengers in the surrounding rows not to leave valuables in the overhead bins. When one woman failed to comply, the crewmember demanded, “Show me your valuables.” That seemed like a real warning at first. There have been several reports of overhead bin theft on THAI (including on this specific flight) and on other airlines. But it not looks as though this may have been identifying which passengers had valuables and where they were storing it. Credit: N509FZ via Wikimedia Commons The family eventually fell asleep, which was unusual – they almost never sleep on flights even ultra-long haul. When the aircraft arrived in Istanbul and its door opened, an Australian couple seated across the aisle discovered that cash had disappeared from a bag stored overhead. They began protesting loudly and asked the crew to stop passengers from leaving and summon police. The female flight attendant refused. Instead, she continued urging passengers off the aircraft. He immediately needed to use the restroom after deplaning. While his family waited for him, his wife and son discovered that approximately $1,500 in US currency was missing from her belongings. He searched his own bag and found another $2,000 missing. They went to the airport police station. His wife spoke to police in Turkish, who told her that flight TG900 was repeatedly associated with similar complaints. “This flight is always a problem” “Thai does not cooperate with us.”But that little could be done without direct evidence. He suddenly lost his balance and began losing sensation along the left side of his body. He was rushed to the hospital with blood pressure of 220 over 190. Doctors diagnosed a brain bleed measuring approximately 21 millimeters. He spent several days in intensive care, and then another 10 days still hospitalized. Medical bills exceeded 800,000 Turkish lira (~ $17,000). His brain hemorrhage has shrunk by half although he continues to have after-affects. Meanwhile, his wife felt as though she had been “run over by a truck” after the flight and both their children had gastrointestinal symptoms. They believed they were drugged, but the focus of their care had been keeping him alive so no timely toxicological testing was done. Despite contacts with Thai Airways offices in Istanbul and Bangkok, airline executives and whistleblower addresses, the Thai Embassy, tourism officials and the Royal Thai Police, he says no one has acknowledged his complaints. Real, Organized In-Flight Theft Is A Growing Problem Organized groups are really boarding commercial flights, wait for passengers to sleep, search overhead bags, remove cash, cards and other valuables, and return the bags before anyone notices. IATA held a closed in-flight theft workshop in Doha in December 2025. Participating airlines concluded that the theft is often organized and transnational, involving coordinated groups whose behavior follows identifiable patterns at the airport, gate and onboard. They discussed crew training, behavioral detection, passenger warnings, better post-incident procedures and improved reporting. They also identified major legal obstacles to prosecuting people when the flight, airline, victim and suspect may each be connected to different countries. Hong Kong reported 169 thefts aboard inbound flights during the first ten months of 2024, involving approximately HK$4.32 million in property. Seventy percent occurred on flights from Southeast Asia, including Thailand, while another 20% came from Middle Eastern points including Dubai, Turkey and Doha. The stolen property was primarily cash, jewelry, watches and credit cards. Hong Kong police have developed suspect databases and share information with airlines about higher-risk routes and times. There are also several cases specifically involving Thai Airways. In March 2025, a passenger on Thai Airways flight TG600 from Bangkok to Hong Kong had cash taken from a backpack in an overhead bin while he slept. His niece reportedly saw another passenger searching the bag. Police arrested and charged a 58-year-old man. In April 2026, passengers reported cash missing aboard Thai Airways flight TG571 from Laos to Bangkok. Crew had seen a passenger searching overhead luggage, police met the flight, recovered cash and arrested the suspect. Another passenger posted an account of theft aboard TG900 in May 2025. He said roughly €500 was removed from his bag while he slept on the Bangkok–Istanbul flight and the bag was returned. In the case of TG571 this spring, there was an arrest. So sometimes there is an effective response to this on THAI flights. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Here we don’t have proof of drugging (just the reported health scares), and we don’t have proof that the flight attendant was casing passengers for the criminals. He suspects specific passengers who remained awake, moved through the cabin and behaved oddly. Scott also points to the death of another passenger aboard an earlier TG900 flight. In that case the passenger reportedly had health problems before departure, and we don’t know a connection to theft or drugging. And while Thai Airways appears in several reports, Hong Kong and IATA data supports that organized cabin theft affects numerous airlines and routes. I have reached out to Thai Airways for comment but have not received a response. I will provide an update if I hear back. Topics on this page