A whole Garuda Indonesia crew has been briefly suspended, after a passenger had his iPhone stolen onboard a flight, with the assumption {that a} crew member have been the wrongdoer. This story has gone viral in Indonesia, given the extent to which the passenger has investigated this case, and the way (type of) damning the proof is (due to David for flagging this)…
Telephone goes lacking on Garuda Indonesia flight, results in crew resort
This incident occurred on June 6, 2025, and includes Garuda Indonesia flight GA716, working from Jakarta (CGK) to Melbourne (MEL). A person named Michael Tjendara was touring on this flight. Throughout takeoff, he sat in seat 30D, and positioned his iPhone within the seat again pocket. After takeoff, he moved to seat 32E, to have the ability to relaxation through the flight.
Nonetheless, after the plane landed in Melbourne round 11AM native time, the person realized that his cellphone was lacking. He reported the incident to the crew, although at that time some passengers had already disembarked, so it wasn’t sensible to go looking the plane cabin.
He reported this concern to the Garuda Indonesia station supervisor on the airport, and likewise filed a declare with the airport’s misplaced and located division. At this level, you’d assume that anybody might be behind this, however that is additionally the place it will get attention-grabbing.
He was monitoring the situation of his cellphone, and shortly after 1PM, the cellphone’s location was on the Mercure Southbank Resort, which can also be the Garuda Indonesia crew resort. So he instantly drove to the resort together with his household. The resort supervisor reportedly confirmed that the crew had checked in there, and “no different passengers” (I’m unsure how they’d know that, however I’m simply passing on what’s claimed).
So at this level he contacted Garuda Indonesia’s station supervisor, and he truly got here to the resort. A search was performed in among the resort rooms of crew members, however not all rooms had been inspected. Till shortly earlier than 4PM, the cellphone was nonetheless detected contained in the resort.
At round 4PM, the whole crew left the resort. Then round 40 minutes later, the cellphone was all of the sudden detected on the fringe of the Yarra River, round 100 meters from the resort. So the passenger and the Garuda Indonesia station supervisor each searched the Southbank Promenade, together with checking trash cans, bushes, and drains.
Then shortly after 5:20PM, the cellphone was nonetheless exhibiting as being on the riverbank, and shortly after 7:30PM, the iPhone was exhibiting as being in the course of the Yarra River.
Garuda Indonesia has taken the step of suspending the whole crew, pending an investigation. Because the airline explains in an announcement:
“To facilitate the investigation course of, all cabin crew members on responsibility have been briefly dismissed from flight duties. We proceed to speak with the passenger and can accompany him till the method is accomplished, as a part of our dedication to making sure the protection and luxury of all passengers.”
My tackle this Garuda Indonesia stolen cellphone story
We truly hear of iPhone theft on airplanes a good bit, and a shocking period of time, the crew is concerned. I discover that sort of surprising on a few ranges. For one, you’d hope that crew wouldn’t be concerned in passenger theft. However much more than that, stealing an iPhone simply appears outright dumb, for the very cause we’re seeing right here — it’s simple to trace the situation of a lacking iPhone, and that may be fairly incriminating. It looks as if a excessive danger and low reward solution to go about stealing.
I’ve gotta say, this story is far more attention-grabbing than the standard “iPhone goes lacking on a airplane” story. For one, this man did fairly some sleuthing, and the extent to which he put effort into discovering his cellphone is sort of one thing. Moreover, enormous kudos to Garuda Indonesia for the way cooperative they’ve been, with the station supervisor even coming to a resort to assist search crew rooms.
For probably the most half, Garuda Indonesia flight attendants are pretty, and I couldn’t think about a overwhelming majority of them making an attempt to steal something from a passenger. On the identical time, there are all the time some unhealthy apples, and the proof right here undoubtedly factors within the route of a crew member being concerned:
- iPhone knowledge monitoring doesn’t lie, and clearly the cellphone was on the crew resort
- In fact it’s doable that another person occurred to be on the resort who stole the cellphone, however it appears unlikely they’d dump the cellphone, until they knew they had been beneath investigation
Based mostly on the data we’ve, I believe it’s extremely probably a crew member was concerned, although not “past an inexpensive doubt,” if that’s the usual required.
On the floor, suspending the entire crew looks as if an overkill. On the identical time, that is clearly simply momentary, till an investigation is accomplished. I hope the airline is ready to determine who’s behind this, and that they get the correct punishment (and never the remainder of the crew).
I can’t assist however marvel if just one crew member really knew of this, or if some crew members are overlaying for each other. At a minimal, I’d need to assume that crew members at the least have a suspicion, based mostly on how totally different folks had been reacting to those accusations.
Backside line
A narrative goes viral in Indonesia about an iPhone that was stolen on a Garuda Indonesia flight. Whereas it goes with out saying that anybody might be behind this, the iPhone was tracked to the crew resort. The airline took these accusations actually significantly, to the purpose that the station supervisor even went to the resort and began looking rooms of crew members.
Whereas the iPhone in the end wasn’t discovered throughout these searches, a while after the crew left the resort, the iPhone was reportedly positioned in a close-by river. The whole crew has now been suspended, pending the end result of an investigation.
What do you make of this Garuda Indonesia stolen iPhone story?
