Chinese passengers detained after assaulting ground staff over delayed flight

Video of the incident at the airport in Changsha has circulated widely on the internet as the latest example of bad behaviour by Chinese airline passengers.

BEIJING // Police in southern China have detained three airline passengers after they were caught on video slapping, verbally abusing and throwing food at ground staff in anger over a delayed flight.

Video of Monday’s incident at the airport in Changsha has circulated widely on the internet as the latest example of bad behaviour by Chinese airline passengers.

The three passengers had apparently become upset after their flight to Sanya was delayed. As female staff tried to calm passengers, two men and a woman shouted, flung the contents of a lunch box and finally slapped one of the members of staff in the face.

The three passengers were detained by police, according to the website of the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily on Tuesday. Such cases can result in a type of non-criminal detention without trial for as long as two weeks.

Concerned over such incidents on the ground and in the air, the Chinese government has created a black list for airline passengers found to be acting disruptively or dangerously.

The list is made public, and airlines, hotels and other travel professionals can use such a designation as grounds for refusing service.

* Associated Press