Air France hostess stole thousands from passengers

An Air France stewardess stole tens of thousands of pounds in cash and jewellery from business class passengers on 142 separate long haul flights.

The 47-year old hostess, referred to only as Lucie R. plundered credulous passengers as she "conscientiously" tucked them up while they slept on international flights from Paris to the Far East.

French border police launched a hunt for the "mile-high" thief after dozens of well-heeled passengers reported the vanishing of wads of euros, yen and Swiss Francs, as well as luxury watches, jewels, chequebooks and credit cards.

The Paris-Tokyo line was her particular favorite, police said, as Japanese customers tend to travel with big amounts of cash. They wholly dropped their guard as the woman was a true professional, tending to their every need.

The woman is now in custody awaiting trial and faces a maximum ten year prison sentence if convicted, police said.

Air France said it was only guilty for belongings checked in and stored in the grasp, anything stolen on board was a travel insurance matter.