A woman was thrown off a plane after reportedly screaming at flight attendants for speaking English.
Her alleged outburst caused a delay of nearly two hours.
The angry passenger even claimed that she was an off-duty flight attendant for a rival airline and that she was “filming a reality show”.
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As cabin instructions were read out in English and Malay, the woman sprung to her feet and proudly exclaimed: “I am from China!”
The ugly scenes were filmed on AirAsia X flight D7809 from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in China to Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on Wednesday (22 Apr).
The flight, originally set for a 2am departure, was grounded until 3.46am as security dealt with the escalating situation.
According to witnesses, the disturbance began when the passenger refused to switch her mobile phone to flight mode during taxiing.
When a fellow traveller, identified as Mr Mou, began filming the safety protocol breach, the woman reportedly became “uncontrollable”.
The passenger reportedly shouted: “Why does an international flight not speak Chinese?”
She then pointed at the passenger sitting next to her and repeatedly shouted: “I am China!”
The woman, who identified herself as an off-duty flight attendant for China Southern Airlines, demanded an apology from those filming her.
AirAsia crew members attempted to de-escalate the situation, but the woman refused to sit down or comply with safety instructions.
Following standard protocol, the pilot returned the aircraft to the gate, where airport police were called to remove the passenger, as reported by Need To Know.
A spokesperson for the Chongqing airport authorities confirmed that the passenger was escorted off the flight for “disrupting public order on an aircraft”.
The flight eventually landed safely in Kuala Lumpur at 8.14am.
It is understood that some passengers missed connecting flights in Kuala Lumpur due to the delay, with several reportedly forced to wait 24 hours for the next available service.
Benyamin Ismail, general manager of AirAsia X, stated: “The pilot made the decision to return to the parking bay for the safety and order of the aircraft as the guest refused to follow instructions and interfered with the crew’s duties.”
He added: “The guest was removed by the local authorities. We would like to praise our crew members for their professionalism in handling the situation according to the set procedures.”
A spokesperson for China Southern Airlines denied that the woman in question was a flight attendant, stating: “The person involved is not an employee of our company.”
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