Passengers on flights in Asia are staging fake injuries when other travelers retrieve carry-on bags from overhead bins, then demanding compensation, according to a travel blogger's account. The scam targets premium cabin passengers, particularly those in first and business class.
A reader reported witnessing the scheme on an AirAsia flight earlier this year and what he believed was a coordinated attempt on Singapore Airlines business class. The pattern involves people claiming to be struck by bags that never touched them, positioning themselves directly under bags to ensure contact, or making loud complaints despite no actual impact.
In one observed case on Singapore Airlines, a passenger says someone warned him about taking down his bag while another person stood directly underneath it. When the bag made contact, that person complained of injury. The reader believes the two were working together.
A documented precedent exists from China in 2011. Prosecutors said a man deliberately engineered collisions with passengers handling luggage, claiming injury and demanding compensation for a diamond allegedly knocked from his watch. A flight attendant warned one victim he might be getting extorted, but the passenger paid anyway, giving 15,000 yuan (approximately $2,300 at the time) to avoid trouble. Airport police grew suspicious and investigated. Authorities said the man obtained 29,000 yuan and a phone from four passengers through similar confrontations. He was arrested on suspicion of extortion.
Real luggage injuries occur. An 80-year-old United frequent flyer was hospitalized after another passenger opened an overhead bin and a bag fell on her. Under the Montreal Convention, airlines can be held liable for bodily injury caused by accidents onboard during boarding or deplaning, even when another passenger handled the bag.
If someone claims injury, get flight attendants involved immediately, ask them to arrange medical attention, and request they document your account and collect witness information and contact details.