An ex-Ryanair cabin crew member has detailed how he once operated a flight in which many passengers stole life jackets from under the seats.
The cabin crew member - who wishes to remain anonymous - revealed that the instance took place during a flight from London to Ibiza a number of years ago, mentioning that it was 'the latest fashion trend' in the party holiday hotspot.
It is also reported that a number of clubs in Ibiza used to allow free entry to tourists who came to their venue with life vests from their air bound journey.
Read more: Flight attendant reveals the 'weirdest' request she's had from a First Class passenger
The Express reports that in turn, to achieve free entry to some of the most expensive nightclubs in Ibiza, passengers would steal the safety item. It's a move that quickly became a very dangerous practice.
The crew member explained: "Once we landed in Ibiza and we were told to check the life vests under the seats because of this trend. We soon realised that half of the life jackets were missing from the plane!
"The captain we had that day, who was a bit of a character, was furious and he made all the passengers wait on the bus that was taking them to the terminal while we searched the aircraft."
The flight attendant claimed that the captain went to the bus where all the passengers were waiting and started shouting and telling them off. They added: "Luckily, we got all our life jackets back and it became a normal procedure for us to check the life jackets under the seats every time we landed in Ibiza and before we departed back to the UK."
Stealing a life vest from the plane can be very dangerous as normally, planes only carry an average of 20 extra life jackets on short-haul flights, excluding the crew's own flotation equipment. Another flight attendant who worked 'on one of Europe’s biggest budget operators' for years, explained: "We sometimes had a 25-minute turnaround to make the entire plane ready for the next flight.
“That included checking no belongings had been left behind, cleaning and disinfecting the cabin. Then, not only did we have to ensure all the safety cards were in the pockets behind every seat, we also had to check that nobody had taken the life jackets from under the seats."
"You’d be surprised how many people steal life jackets from planes as souvenirs!" he said, adding: "You can imagine how serious it’d be if someone didn’t have a life jacket when they needed one.”
Joyce K, who also worked as a flight attendant for an American carrier, explained on the social media platform Quora that many passengers 'grab the emergency flotation devices under their seats before exiting the aircraft'. She wrote: "We had to check each seat after each flight to make sure each one had a vest."
However, there are other items, such as pillows and blankets, that passengers also like to steal, especially from First Class. Some travellers also take airsickness bags, like Clemens Sehi, who likes to collect them: “It’s kind of a tradition for me to take the bags with me as a souvenir."
The travel blogger Clemens Sehi has now more than 250 bags from 50 countries, he told The Washington Post. Plastic knives and forks are obviously free as they are discarded after use but some planes have metal cutlery for First Class passengers.
There are also nice salt and pepper shakers, which are reportedly the most commonly stolen item on Virgin Atlantic flights. Planes have life jackets and other emergency flotation devices available in the unlikely event of ditching or landing on water.
While long-haul flights carry life rafts, short-haul flights only carry one life jacket per person and around 20 extra life vests. Stealing a life jacket from a flight can be very serious, as there wouldn't be enough for everyone if the plane had to land on water.
If the crew realise the life jackets are missing, the flight could be delayed or cancelled as under current regulations, an aircraft can not depart without a minimum amount of emergency equipment - including a life jacket for each passenger.
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