CHINA: Chinese Pilot Tells Passengers To Get Of Plain And Complain About Flight Delay, Has Been Suspended

A Chinese pilot has been suspended, his airline said, after social media footage showed he told passengers to deplane and protest against a flight delay, the latest outburst over the country's notorious air transport services.

The flight, operated by Lucky Air, was scheduled to leave the tourist destination of Xishuangbanna for the southern city of Kunming at midnight on Monday.

Thirty minutes after the scheduled departure, the captain told passengers that a plane operated by a larger carrier had jumped the queue and caused the delay, according to a passenger who posted a video on China's Twitter-like Weibo. "I am very angry.

Please get off the plane. We won't depart for now. Let's put some pressure on the airport, go and vent for me," the passenger on the video quoted the pilot as saying. Passengers got off and started yelling on the tarmac: "Explain the queue-jumping! A plane scheduled behind us took off first!" People began taking selfies and kicking around shuttlecocks, the passenger said.

China leads the world in flight delays, with the average flight delayed 21 minutes last year, according to the country's Civil Aviation Administration. Much of the country's airspace is under military control, restricting availability for civilian flights.

In recent years, airports have often seen tense confrontations between stranded passengers and airline representatives. Some time later, the Lucky Air pilot asked the passengers to return to the plane for take-off. "I hope you can cooperate and do me a favour," he said over the intercom.

"Thank you very much. I am so sorry for holding you up until this late." But some passengers refused to do as they were requested. The plane finally departed around 3am. Lucky Air said in a statement that the pilot had been suspended, adding that the delay was caused by a "misunderstanding during communication between the crew and the airport".

"The captain's misconduct wrongfully led some of the passengers onto the tarmac and caused the delay of the flight," the statement said.

CHINA: Chinese Tourists Demand Free Upgrade,Assault Crew, Flight Delayed 2 Hours

Two economy passengers on a domestic Chinese flight who demanded upgrades to first class, injured four cabin attendants and a security officer and delayed the plane for nearly two hours are being investigated by police, Hainan Airlines said in a statement on Tuesday.

The airline said it would take legal action against the two men, who were not named, and apply to the Civil Aviation Administration to have them added to a national black list of disgraced passengers who are banned from air travel in future.

The two men holding economy class tickets occupied seats in the first class cabin after boarding flight HU7041 from Taiyuan, in northern Shanxi province to the southern metropolis of Chongqing on Sunday.

They refused to leave the seats or pay for the price differences before taking off.

They argued with the cabin crew and then hit them when they were asked to return to their own seats, the statement said.

The pilot stopped the plane as it was taxiing to the runway and returned to the terminal to allow police to board the plane and take the two men away, causing the flight to be delayed for two hours.

Hainan Airlines strongly condemned the behaviour in a statement: “We call for more understanding and respect for people in service jobs and for civilised behaviour in the cabin.”