79 arrested in worldwide crackdown on airline fraud

Between 18 – 22 November 2019, 60 countries, 56 airlines and 12 online travel agencies were involved in the 12th edition of the Global Airline Action Days (GAAD), an international and multidisciplinary operation to fight fraudulent online purchases of flight tickets with compromised credit card data, which took place at more than 200 airports across the world.

During this international law enforcement operation, targeting airline fraudsters, 165 suspicious transactions were reported. Investigations have been opened and 79 individuals suspected of traveling with airline tickets bought using stolen, compromised or fake credit card details have been arrested or detained.

Some of the reported cases were linked to illegal immigration, where the arrested passengers were in possession of counterfeited IDs or valid documents from other persons from different nationalities.

It is estimated that the airline industry’s losses have reached close to 1 billion USD per year, as a result of the fraudulent online purchases of flight tickets. These online transactions are highly lucrative for organised crime and are often linked to more serious criminal activities including irregular immigration, trafficking in human beings, drug smuggling and terrorism.