I recently wrote about a Qatar Airways flight attendant fired for stealing a business class passenger’s phone out of the lavatory. Now another flight attendant appears to have stolen a passenger’s iPhone. And when the airline turned up the heat, the phone wound up in a river.
Garuda Indonesia suspended the entire flight crew following the incident on flight GA716 from Jakarta to Melbourne on Friday.
- A passenger realized on arrival that his iPhone was missing. He tracked it back to Indonesia.
- Contacting the airline got him little, so he went to social media with screenshots of the device location. The carrier then began to investigate.
- They sent management to a crew hotel to search for the phone, but did not find it. Tracking shows that it was ditched in a river. The entire crew was suspended temporarily while the investigation continues.
#VIRAL iPHONE THEFT INCIDENTS AT GARUDA INDONESIA PLANE ONBOARD JAKARTA-MELBOURNE
* Most alleged that cabin crew from Garuda Indonesia stole the phone
Uploaded on Sunday, 8th June 2025 pic.twitter.com/JOnsmokcpQ
— Agraprana Pahlawan – WWIII ALERT (@skynewsagra) June 10, 2025
This is a huge story in Indonesia.
And the airline has been forced to put out a statement.
In response to a social media post regarding a report of a lost mobile phone by one of the passengers on flight GA 716, which departed from Jakarta to Melbourne on 6 June 2025, Garuda Indonesia deeply regrets the incident and apologizes for the inconvenience experienced by the passenger.
Garuda Indonesia is undertaking a thorough investigation with relevant stakeholders to support the reporting process. This includes identifying the chronology of the incident with the cabin crew on duty. Also, for the smooth running of the investigation process, all cabin crew on duty have been temporarily discharged from flying duties.
We can confirm that at the time of receiving the loss report, all crew members on duty had carried out standard operational and flight safety procedures. This includes immediately responding to reports of loss and coordinating with local airport authorities, followed by a search process involving relevant officers at the airport.
In addition, as a form of our commitment to passenger comfort, Garuda Indonesia representatives in Melbourne also assisted the passenger concerned in handling this incident, including during the official reporting to the local police. We are currently in ongoing communication with the passenger.
Garuda Indonesia is committed to maintaining passenger trust by providing services that prioritize compliance with international aviation safety and security standards.
Several years ago an American Airlines flight attendant was accused of stealing a passenger’s iPhone. The crewmember had promised to bring the lost phone to the passenger – and didn’t do it. Then selfies were getting uploaded into the iCloud. American Airlines investigated and concluded that the selfies were not of the crewmember, though the passenger said that they were.
(HT: One Mile at a Time)
Well, that’s messed up. Glad they finally ‘did something’ about it, I guess. Have flown with Garuda several times on domestic Indonesian routes. ‘Not great, not terrible.’ Better than Lion, AirAsia, Batik, Citilink, etc., mostly because GA is with SkyTeam.
Maybe that terminated QR F/A was deported back to Indonesia where he/she/they was subsequently hired by GA, but the ‘life of crime’ continues…
Just lettin’ my imagination run wild, I’m sure stranger things have happened !
@bossa — Ah, kinda like police departments in the US or the Catholic church; they get caught, shuffle ‘em around. If only there was a ‘Spotlight’ on this apparent problem…
I love how the lefties in this thread like 1990 who claim to be about standing up for the little guy just accept the passenger allegation that it was a flight attendant who stole it. No witnesses and no evidence that it was a flight attendant.
That tells me all I need to know about left wingers today. Mob justice.
@Wesley — Sir, ‘this is a Wendy’s…’
So, uh, did they buy him a new phone? Starting an international manhunt is great and all, but the real question is if they replaced the phone. Is he waiting for them to pull his old one from the river?
Ya because shitbird left the phone behind in the latrine it’s the crew abs not another passenger culpable. Why is the crew presumed guilty and deprived of revenue. Rule out some priveleged child as having taken it.
I’ve flown Batik Air quite a bit. I actually like their service. Have never flown with Garuda though.
Why do right wingnuts make this political somehow? Mental defect?
@Jacobin777 — That’s good to hear. Next time, I’ll give them a try. Have mostly routed via DPS to Java and Flores. Would like to someday make it to Raja Ampat. It’s wild that from end-to-end Indonesia is basically wider than the lower-48 USA.
Suspending the entire crew with no evidence. Glad I don’t work for them. But it is the kind of thing felonious dictator would do.
No kings!
@ 1990. Garuda is not better because it is associated with Skyteam. Garuda’s strength is the crew, who, in the Indonesian tradition, actually care about the customer. Before the 1996 financial crisis they used to fly from LA. Great times. Still really good.
@Jack the Ladd — Oh, wow. I just read that route involved a stop in HNL. That must have been a super long-haul if going the full distance!
Before the pandemic, I recall Garuda was attempting a return to LAX (and was considering NYC), but it fizzled out. For leisure travelers nonstop LAX-DPS would be nice. For visiting friends and relatives (VFR), CGK might work.
On other regional players, I’m somewhat surprised that Thai hasn’t returned to the US yet; though, I read recently that they’re planning to (maybe there’ll be increased demand following White Lotus season 3, filmed there). I miss when they flew to JFK (via Tokyo).
As I’m sure you’re already aware, Thai and Garuda were previously banned from US and EU. At least these days everyone’s safety ratings are now Category 1, so they can re-apply to return.
Also, Vietnam currently flies San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City. I’ve never taken them long-haul, but I’ve enjoyed their regional flights in the past (another SkyTeam partner). Sometimes the Delta points redemptions are decent on these guys.