In a newly filed California lawsuit, a Qatar Airways business class passenger is accusing a flight attendant of theft, as flagged by PYOK. The accusations here are terrible, but I’ve gotta be honest, I’m a little skeptical of the claims.
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Traveler sues Qatar Airways over cash stolen inflight
A person who asked to have their identity protected is suing Qatar Airways for breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional tort, and negligence, after what unfolded on February 26, 2025. The person was traveling in business class from San Francisco (SFO) to Doha (DOH) to Kolkata (CCU). This incident happened on the ultra long haul flight to Doha, operated by an Airbus A350-1000.
The passenger claims that she was traveling with a “designer handbag” that had $4,100 worth of cash in it. She claims to have set the handbag down in her Qsuite seat (which is a business class suite with a door), and then went to sleep. When she woke up, she noticed that her handbag was missing.
So she alerted one of the crew members, and then went around the cabin to see if she could find it. According to the lawsuit, as she walked down the aisle, she noticed a lavatory door that was partially open, and in the lavatory, she saw her handbag on the floor, along with a Qatar Airways flight attendant.
Once back in possession of her bag, she checked to make sure that nothing was missing, but she discovered that $600 of the $4,100 in cash that she was carrying had disappeared. The person filing the lawsuit claims that she immediately alerted other crew, but the flight attendant in question (who was the suspect) continued working for the remainder of the flight, and no action was taken against her, and nothing was done to try and recover the missing cash.
The story gets even stranger, because once she arrived at her destination, the passenger started to receive Facebook Messenger and Instagram messages from people claiming to know the flight attendant, and the messages “expressed a wish for bad things” to happen to the passenger, as well as her son, which caused “extreme fear, anxiety and concern for the safety and security of herself and her family.”
So the airline is accused of failing to take action against the flight attendant, failing to investigate, failing to protect her identity and privacy, and failing to compensate her for the theft.
What can we made of this bizarre Qatar Airways story?
If this were just a random claim on social media, I’d probably just assume that it’s fake, and wouldn’t bother covering it. However, someone filed an actual lawsuit here, which takes effort, and gives the claims a little bit more credibility. That’s not to say that the claims are true, but I think they’re worth covering.
The way I view it, there are three different matters at play here:
- The actual theft that happened, and who was behind it
- The threatening messages the passenger received after the flight
- Qatar Airways’ investigation into this incident
Let’s go through those one-by-one…
Inflight theft is a common problem, much more so than most people would assume. However, a vast majority of the time, it’s not flight attendants committing the theft, but instead, fellow passengers. There are even some “theft rings” out there, where some people book flights exclusively to be able to steal from fellow passengers.
That being said, I would be shocked if a Qatar Airways cabin crew would steal from a passenger, and I find the details here hard to believe:
- Say what you will about the Gulf region, but one area where countries like Qatar and the UAE are incredibly safe is when it comes to theft, which happens very rarely, given the consequences
- We’re supposed to believe that a flight attendant opened the suite door, took someone’s purse, then later that person just happened to wake up at the same time that the flight attendant was in the bathroom with the purse while also having the door open? The flight attendant didn’t even bother to close the lavatory door while stealing?!
- Then despite the flight attendant being caught red-handed, the rest of the crew didn’t do anything, and just brushed it off?
I’m trying to find any way to make sense of this claim, but am struggling, because it’s just so outlandish…
Regarding the social media messages that the passenger received after the flight, if that’s actually true and related to the incident, that’s of course a serious issue. Could it be that the flight attendant didn’t actually do anything wrong inflight (and was falsely accused of theft), but still got reprimanded, and then the flight attendant told family and friends about what happened, and then they messaged the traveler? Of course sharing personal passenger information with others would seriously cross the line, and would be very inappropriate.
But again, I struggle with the claim. If the airline didn’t take the matter seriously (as the traveler claims), and if the flight attendant wasn’t reprimanded, why would the crew’s family and friends have been mad at the passenger? The flight attendant would be $600 richer, and would want to be quiet, no?
Regarding the carrier’s investigation into what happened, it’s hard to know what to make of that. I sure hope that the cabin manager filed a report about the incident, and that the airline investigated. However, it could also be that the airline did investigate, and what they concluded just didn’t match up with what she was hoping.
Bottom line
A business class passenger has filed a lawsuit against Qatar Airways, claiming that a flight attendant stole $600 from her inflight, and she then received threatening messages due to her identity not being protected. This isn’t just some random claim on a social media account, but an actual lawsuit has been filed. Despite that, the details just don’t make a whole lot of sense…
What do you make of this strange Qatar Airways story?
Based on the description I can only say; Good luck with that case.
That a thief will drop a wallet he/she has just stolen after removing valuables into a lavatory cubicle is a logical event. It is the one place on an airplane where many people go, sometimes with and sometimes without purses, and that offers privacy.
That cabin attendants are checking lavatories is procedure and they do not normally close the lavatory door behind...
Based on the description I can only say; Good luck with that case.
That a thief will drop a wallet he/she has just stolen after removing valuables into a lavatory cubicle is a logical event. It is the one place on an airplane where many people go, sometimes with and sometimes without purses, and that offers privacy.
That cabin attendants are checking lavatories is procedure and they do not normally close the lavatory door behind them, which a thief most certainly would. If a flight attendant notices a purse or wallet in a lavatory it is only logical that she or he would pick it up and examine it to identify the owner. People sometimes forget stuff in lavatories (besides flushing and wiping the sink ).
Unless there is more to it, to construct a crime between a flight attendant picking up and examining an item in a lavatory and a theft while the passenger was asleep in her business class suite is far fetched.
I can’t see a conviction happening based on the reported events alone and it is also not unheard of that passengers sometimes make fraudulent claims on board because the believe airlines will avoid bad publicity and have “deep pockets”.
The burden of finding a party liable in a civil lawsuit is comparatively low compared to a criminal jury trial.
It's perfectly legal to carry lots of cash internationally, but a handbag full of banknotes left out on a seat is just asking for trouble. Locking it away in a carry-on case would have been more sensible. The passenger must surely be negligent for not taking reasonable care to ensure that her money was stowed securely.
That flight attendant makes more than that measley $600 passenger claims she took, after that one flight. Why would it anyone have the time to count out $600. Don't you think it's easier to just grab the stash? No claim.
If you think a FA makes more than $600 per flight I have some beachfront property in Arizona to sell you.
You said filing a lawsuit takes effort? In America? Are you kidding me? We are talking about a few phone calls to tort attorneys that will happily take this on contingency and file a lawsuit to milk out a settlement. It's the most corrupt industry in America.
Seriously, Ben, you need to get with the program. Maybe drive a bit on I-95 and look at the billboards. One after another.
Are you aware that Americans aren’t even the most litigious nation? Brazil is by far say ahead with an amazing 98.5% of all lawsuits according to IATA. Germany Israel Sweden are also more. Brazil has 1 lawsuit per 227 passengers versus 1 per 1.2 million in the US.
https://www.russell.co.uk/RussellThinking/Risk/2856/the-curious-case-of-the-brazilian-aviation-sector
My guess is the passenger is from India....
My friend his Airpods got “stolen” in a Hilton property in Qatar, after we forgot it in the room upon checking out. We tracked the Airpods with Find My to an employee’s home. Apparently the work contract was immediately terminated and the employee got sent back to his country after the incident. Although it’s a bit different than having cash stolen in a plane, just because it’s the UAE or Qatar doesn’t mean stealing doesn’t happen.
Even a minor theft speaks volumes about the employee's character. The guests didn't leave the Airpods on the bed with a post-it note saying "please take these, with our thanks for the great service".
Completely absurd and ridiculous. Qatar airways is very strict with their crew and I'm sure the crew are paid well enough not to steal 600 USD !
I suspect the Indian/Bengal passenger has some other motivation to file a lawsuit, probably hopes to get compensation ?
Yes...you're absolutely right bro...
Qatar FA's are more afraid of consequences of stealing on Qatar Airways or in Qatar period. they do not believe on "Slap on the wrist". So there is a Zero chance of that happening. Now Indian Passengers lying about losing money, It happens all the time.
Indians again? CBP probably took her cash, she now wants Qatar to pay for it. I have been flying for more than 50 years never heard an FA steal, But plenty of Indians stealing and peeeeeeing on other passengers.
The FA only stole $600? Not $3,000? $4,000. Well that's stupid. She deserves everything coming to her for only stealing $400
How did families and friends of the FA get the pax' information? If the pax did not post the story on SM, it is a serious breach of the pax' privacy to give out her information.
I find it hard to understand how the pax slept with the bag close to the door...
The FA only stole $600? Not $3,000? $4,000. Well that's stupid. She deserves everything coming to her for only stealing $400
How did families and friends of the FA get the pax' information? If the pax did not post the story on SM, it is a serious breach of the pax' privacy to give out her information.
I find it hard to understand how the pax slept with the bag close to the door so that anyone could just wander by and pick it up without reaching across body and disturbing the sleeper. Perhaps the door couldn't latch close? Many of these airline doors do have this problem.
That's the problem of smoking too much pot before going to somewhere you can't smoke pot.
You spent $600 to OD on pot and forgot about it.
Who would steal $600 out of $4100 and not the whole amount.
Frivolous lawsuit out of Ca? Who’d have thought it? Just some chancer looking for a settlement
Honestly, out of anywhere in America. It's become a cesspool. Sadly it is clouding what may be legitimate claims because the system is so broken.
I once worried that my cufflinks had been stolen while sleeping on Qatar Airways.
The purser was then extremely focussed on helping me to search - I realised she would be having a very tough time if there was a theft.
Fortunately I found I had put them in a different place from normal.
So the idea that the purser would not do anything seems extremely unlikely.
And how would the FA know the passenger's telephone number?
Yup, the whole story is as fishy as a dumpster full of prawn shells.
First and foremost traveling with over $4K in cash in the year 2025? Not to mention there are countries on the look out for people traveling with large amounts of cash.
There's zero proof the flight attendant took the $600. Not to say the flight attendant didn't but that would be a real "ballsy" thing to do on a plane. And as Ben points out the harshness of laws in the Middle East.
If for...
First and foremost traveling with over $4K in cash in the year 2025? Not to mention there are countries on the look out for people traveling with large amounts of cash.
There's zero proof the flight attendant took the $600. Not to say the flight attendant didn't but that would be a real "ballsy" thing to do on a plane. And as Ben points out the harshness of laws in the Middle East.
If for some reason I was traveling with a large amount of cash not fitting in my wallet I'd have buried deep into my carry ons for this very reason.
4K in cash is not a very large amount. I was once almost stranded in Italy when all credit cards from the USA were not being approved due to some type of outage. I also managed to fly out hours before an Icelandic volcano disrupted European flights for weeks. I could have been stranded and money in hand is important.
I also must state that while I am not a thief, there might be...
4K in cash is not a very large amount. I was once almost stranded in Italy when all credit cards from the USA were not being approved due to some type of outage. I also managed to fly out hours before an Icelandic volcano disrupted European flights for weeks. I could have been stranded and money in hand is important.
I also must state that while I am not a thief, there might be a valid reason to steal a small portion rather than the full stack of cash. There might be hope that the victim would not count and realize some is missing.