SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Düsseldorf airport: the ‘El Dorado’ of bag theft

Düsseldorf may not be Germany's biggest airport, but it is where passengers are most likely to have their bags stolen, a study revealed on Wednesday.

Düsseldorf airport: the 'El Dorado' of bag theft
Photo: DPA

Around 21 million passengers came in and out of the North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) airport, Düsseldorf, in 2012. Of these, 1,000 reported that their bags had been stolen.

Yet Frankfurt, the country’s largest airport and Europe’s third largest, had only 671 cases of stolen luggage among its some 57 million passengers, a study by online travel portal reisen.de revealed after examining figures at 18 of the country’s airports.

Mere miles away from Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn airport registered just 24 bag thefts among its 9.2 million travellers. Munich, an airport with 38 million passengers, came in second place, registering 600 thefts.

The Express NRW regional newspaper, which reported the study, asked police why thieves seemed so active in Düsseldorf.

“They feel comfortable because there are too few officers on patrol. Too many colleagues, also in local police forces, would rather just drive around instead,” said a long-term officer who did not want to be named.

The paper dubbed Düsseldorf as the “El Dorado” of bag theft, while reisen.de suggested that crime looks to be rising there.

In Munich, though, incidents have risen the most with the number of bags being stolen rocketing from 413 to 600 between 2011 and 2012.

The Local/jcw

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

SHOW COMMENTS