Airline Installed Hidden Cameras To Catch Thieving Ground Staff Accused Of Stealing Pringles And Sweets
- Ten aircraft cleaners at Manchester Airport may have stolen Duty Free stock totalling around €200,000 over a period of several months in the summer of 2023. The gang were only caught when the airline installed covert cameras on two planes.
An airline installed covert cameras on two of its planes after becoming suspicious that ground staff at Manchester Airport in England were stealing alcohol and cigarettes from the Duty Free supplies, as well as sweets and even Pringles chips.
Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus started to notice what it described as “significant stock loss” on flights operating to Manchester, so it decided to install the cameras in a bid to get to the bottom of what was going on.
Key culprits for the missing stock could have been cabin crew or ground staff who service the planes in Manchester, although it was suspected that the ground staff were responsible.
The cameras caught ten cleaning staff at Manchester Airport cutting through metal security seals with heavy-duty tools to access carts before they helped themselves to the contents.
The thefts occurred when the aircraft were sitting on the ground overnight in Manchester, and while there were no cabin crew or pilots onboard the planes.
The planes were Airbus A330 long-haul airplanes that operate ‘fifth-freedom’ flights between Manchester and New York JFK, so had a significant amount of Duty Free stock onboard.
What is a Fifth Freedom Flight?
Fifth Freedom rights allow a foreign airline to operate an international flight via a third country and sell tickets to passengers on every leg. This often happens as a so-called ‘tag flight’ in which the foreign airline flies to a destination via a third country.
For example, Emirates operates flights from Dubai to Newark via a stopover in Athens. With fifth-freedom rights, Emirates is allowed to sell tickets to passengers only on the Athens to Newark leg.
In 2021, Aer Lingus started Fifth Freedom flights from Manchester to Barbados, New York, and Orlando. These are, however, slightly different as Aer Lingus starts and ends the flights in Manchester without a tag leg.
Although the trial of the ten suspects is only now getting underway at Manchester Crown Court, the thefts actually took place in the summer of 2023.
Aer Lingus started to notice the losses in May and June of that year, and installed the cameras in late July. Over the course of several days, the cameras picked up the cleaning staff breaking into the carts and making off with stock worth hundreds of pounds.
The court has been shown evidence of some of the suspects lifting up the carts to check out how heavy they were – an indication of how much stock was inside and whether it was worth breaking into.
Audio recording from the cameras heard some of the cleaners discussing how they had been “hitting” the stock for several days in a row, as they stuffed Duty Free perfumes into pillow cases used onboard.
Aer Lingus believes the total loss incurred as a result of the thefts came to around €200,000, although the cleaners were only charged with the stock loss caught on camera, which came to €1,290.
The ten suspects were found guilty of theft but escaped jail sentences, instead being ordered to carry out unpaid community work. All ten would have lost their airside passes that allows them to work in an airport.
Matt’s Take
Is it any wonder that most airlines have totally given up on in-flight Duty Free shopping when they have to contend with things like this?
Okay, so there are multiple reasons why many airlines have abandoned in-flight shopping, but stock losses from theft have long been a major concern.
It has always been difficult for airlines to track down the culprits for these thefts, and it could take months to build up enough evidence against the suspect, often waiting for trends to emerge on certain flights with the same staff member.
For the amount that suspects got away with, it means a lost career and a criminal record that will prevent them from working in the aviation industry in the future.
