This is a true story that happened to me a few months ago. And I still get goose bumps when I remember it, is time to share it with you and you should share it with your friends too.
In April 2016, we were travelling from Istanbul Ataturk International airport to Bahrain, our carrier was Turkish Airlines.
Passengers were settling in their seats and using the overhead cabins to store their bags, the one on the next row took long looking for an item in his bag, so by the time he wanted to put his bag in the overhead compartment, they were all full.
I saw an opening a few seats away and directed him to it, he placed it there and settled in his seat.
Lights dimmed
As soon as the flight was airborne, we were served dinner and lights were dimmed so people could sleep, and a few like me preferred to watch movies. One row ahead of me, on the right, sat a Chinese passenger. He did not seem settled and kept fidgeting on his seat, he did not eat or drink anything he was served, except a glass of water.
As soon as the lights were dimmed, I saw him get up and move down the aisle, opened the overhead and pulled a bag out, brought it to his seat and started looking inside it. For a moment, I thought this was the same bag my neighbour had put there, but I decided not to assume and went on to watch my movie. By now the lights were switched off and it was then that I saw the man getting up from his seat again and walking further down the aisle, this time he pulled out another bag and did the same thing as he did previously. My concern levels were now getting high and I had to wake up my husband to watch this drama unfold in front of us.
A robber?
A few minutes later, we both saw him get up again and repeated the same action to a third bag. You know that moment when you do not know what to do? The moment your mind gets stuck and refuses to accept the fact that an actual robbery is taking place, and at the same time, you cannot accuse someone because you do not know for a fact if these bags are his or not.
So we decided to monitor him upon arrival and check if the hand luggage he looked through were his or not. Lo and behold, all my doubts were confirmed he had one small carry on that was none of the ones he checked. As soon as we reached the arrival hall, I notified the immigration officers and left the matter in their hands.
Later, on I officially informed Turkish Airlines about this incident and it turned out that they had similar complaints before, and in one case the thief was also caught red handed.
It is interesting that whenever I am in any public transport mode, bus, train, and boat. I watch my belongings very carefully, but somehow never thought that this can happen in a plane, and now I understood why some passengers had locks on their carry on, they must have experienced what I experienced!
My lesson
Travelling is truly a joy that cannot be compared to any other; however, if you are not careful, it can turn into a nightmare that will not end soon. So keep safe, travel light and enjoy your trip, and remember that long gone are the days when a lost wallet was returned to the owner untouched.
lifemagazine@ug.nationmedia.com
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