Chinese Passenger Opens Plane Door For Fresh Air

A Chinese airline passenger pulled open an
emergency exit as his plane was about to
take off because he “just wanted fresh
air”, Chinese media have reported.
The man had not realised that opening the
door was dangerous, staff members said.
The safety scare on Sunday came days
after a passenger on another domestic
flight opened the emergency exit moments
after his plane landed – deploying the
chute – saying that he was in a hurry to
get off.
There is growing concern in China that the
behaviour of travellers, particularly
those venturing overseas, is damaging the
image of the country. An AirAsia flight
from Bangkok to Nanjing had to return to
Thailand last week after an angry Chinese
passenger allegedly threw hot water at a
flight attendant.
But Sunday’s incident, on a Xiamen Air
flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu, seems to
have been an innocent mistake by a first-
time flier. Startled fellow passengers took
shots of the incident on their mobile
phones, later posting them on social media.
No slide was used because the door was
above a wing and maintenance workers were
able to fix the problem in time for the
flight to take off punctually.
“It was the first time he had flown,” an
airline employee told the Southern
Metropolis Daily newspaper.
“He did not cause delays or any other
direct losses to the airline.”
It is unclear whether the man involved in
last week’s incident with the chute was
punished. Staff at China Eastern Airlines
told reporters that the incident on the
Xi’an to Sanya flight delayed the plane’s
next take-off by two hours.
An unnamed expert told the official China
News Service that the airline might also
have to spend over 100,000 yuan (£10,340)
checking and maintaining the emergency
slide and cabin door.