A DAD dubbed the “Fraud of the Skies” stole £25,000 worth of duty free goods on hundreds of flights after exploiting a payment loophole.
Keith James, 63, looted luxury perfumes, designer sunglasses, alcohol, cigarettes and other high-end items during his three-year scheme.
The cunning passenger took advantage of the fact in-air transactions could only be processed after planes landed.
James would let loose on the duty free trolley on board while using a string of bank cards that had no credit facilities.
The father-of-six, who believed he was terminally ill with bladder cancer, would then scarper before cabin crew downloaded passenger purchases, a court heard.
Swindled airline staff would then find his transactions had been rejected due to “insufficient funds”.
After catching onto his scam, Jet2 tried to ban the light-fingered flyer from their airline – but James managed to overcome it by using his middle name on boarding passes.
The 62-year-old, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, ignored repeated legal letters demanding payment.
The brazen dad even continued to fly with the same operators who had realised he was cheating them out of cash between May 2016 and April 2019.
James was eventually nicked at Manchester Airport after returning on a flight from Spain after visiting his wife who lives abroad.
Despite admitting he had “been an idiot”, the pilfering…
