Group Refuses To Disembark From Aircraft After Flight Cancelled, Waits For Morning Flight

While many passengers in the United States complain about incidents of being “held captive” aboard airliners for hours during weather delays and cancelations, a recent weather delay in China had some passengers doing the exact opposite -- refusing to leave the aircraft after the flight had been canceled.

Reuters reported Friday of the unique situation after a Chinese airline flight from Beijing to the eastern coastal city of Yantai was cancelled due to poor weather. The flight boarded shortly before its expected 2000 local time late evening departure with 200 passengers aboard, but weather conditions forced the aircraft and passengers to sit on the tarmac for more than three hours before the airline made the decision to cancel the flight.

According to the Beijing Morning Post, most of the passengers disembarked after the cancelation, but fifty-two passengers on flight refused to disembark from the aircraft.

The Morning Post spoke to one of those who remained aboard, identified as Mrs. Shi, about their reasoning for remaining aboard the airliner.

"Mrs. Shi said that she and her colleagues had to get to Yantai for a meeting, they were on a very tight schedule, and could not accept the cancellation of the flight” the paper said.

At 0300, the airline informed the passengers aboard they could take a flight to Yantai at 0730.

"The passengers said that in the 12 hours or so they spent on the aircraft, the crew provided continuous service, and all along offered food and drink," the report said.

Reports of unruly passengers unwilling to get off of delayed airliners or causing trouble within airports is a common occurrence in the Chinese media, but airlines are also frequently criticized in these cases for not providing enough information or service for passengers inconvenienced by the delays. The case of the airline providing full service to the 52 overnight passengers is unique as airline service standards have struggled to keep up even after billions of dollars spent in the upgrade of aircraft and airports in the country.

FMI: http://en.bcia.com.cn