Entire flight crew suspended after search for passenger’s stolen phone

The passenger claimed he tracked his stolen phone back to a hotel where airline staff were staying

An Indonesian airline suspended the entire cabin crew from a flight after a passenger’s lost phone was allegedly traced back to the hotel airline staff were staying in.

The incident occurred during a Garuda Indonesia flight GA716 from Jakarta to Melbourne on 6 June, when passenger Michael Tjendara claimed his phone had been stolen.

Mr Tjendara said he had placed his device in the backseat pocket before moving seats after takeoff, only to return to his old seat to find his phone gone.

The passenger explained the theft in Instagram posts that now appear to have been removed, with a series of screenshots of Find My iPhone, an Apple feature that allows people to track where their devices are.

Mr Tjendara claimed the device had been tracked close to the Mercure Hotel, where Garuda crew members were believed to be staying after the flight landed, the MailOnline reported.

The screenshots then showed the phone on the move to the Evan Walker Bridge, then near the Yarra River in Melbourne.

Mr Tjendara later wrote on LinkedIn that “sometime during that flight, my iPhone vanished. It wasn’t lost. It was stolen”.

“Later that day, Apple's ‘Find My’ feature showed the device pinging at a Southbank hotel, the same one where the airline crew had just checked in,” he wrote.

“A short time later, the signal disappeared under a bridge along the Yarra River. Most likely, it was thrown into the water.”

The passenger said he has cooperated with authorities in both Australia and Indonesia.

“This was never about a phone,” he added. “It was about feeling safe when you fly. It was about knowing your family’s protected.”

Garuda Indonesia’s commercial director, Ade R. Susardi, released a statement on 9 June in response to social media posts about the lost phone, saying the airline is investigating the incident.

The airline said this includes identifying the chronology of the incident with the cabin crew on duty.

While the airline only described the phone as “lost” rather than stolen at, all cabin crew who were on duty on the flight have been temporarily discharged from working while the investigation continues.

Mr Susardi said that when the phone was reported as lost, all crew members had carried out standard operational and flight safety procedures, including reporting it to Jakarta airport authorities, who conducted a search.

Garuda Indonesia representatives in Melbourne also assisted the passenger in reporting his lost phone to the local police.

Mr Susardi said in an update on 12 June that the Indonesian National Police is now supporting the investigation, as well as keeping in contact with the passenger throughout the process.

The airline said it “deeply regrets the incident and apologises for the inconvenience experienced by the passenger”.

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