Originally Posted by
hiima
They can hold you in the plane for as long as they want.
[LAWYER HAT ON] No they can't. For starters, there's false imprisonment (similar to kidnapping, but without the transportation requirement). It's a felony in most jurisdictions. Interestingly, it's also a tort, meaning that you have the right to sue for damages in a civil action. If you're arriving on an international flight, that can complicate things a bit, since the airline may be able to get CBP to cooperate with excuses. But AA can't hold pax indefinitely over a $300 pair of headphones. [/LAWYER HAT OFF]
Originally Posted by
hiima
After a flight NRT-LAX on SQ, customs officers came aboard saying that all passengers have to stay on the plane until a couple of pax were found. Thank goodness I was in F cause in I'm pretty sure that took a while.
Missing
people is very different from missing headphones, especially on an international arriving flight.
Originally Posted by
neo_781
I had a similar thing happen once too. Messages started out nice and kept getting more menacing as they couldn't find the missing headset. The last message (before they were found) was the police were going to board when we landed. I thought it was very heavy handed.
No problem with this. If a crime has been committed or is suspected, the police are the appropriate ones to handle it, not the lead FA, not the Purser, not the flight crew and not some miscellaneous ground agent meeting the flight, any of whom might decide to hold the passengers hostage until the headphones are returned.
Originally Posted by
hiima
Based on what the Flight Attendants were saying, I think AA must have a very punitive process where the FA is charged for the lost set or something of that nature.
Wouldn't be surprised, but they still can't hold you there.