Illustrated by Yu Ruwen
On a flight from Guam to Shanghai, Ms. Zhang and her husband got into an argument with the crew over the placement of their luggage. As a result, the captain, citing "aviation safety," had them removed from the plane and refused to allow them to reboard. In the end, their daughter, who was under 12 years old, was left alone on the plane while Ms. Zhang and her husband had to take a later flight the next day.
The incident that occurred on February 1st aboard United Airlines led to Ms. Zhang's family feeling very upset and believing they were treated unfairly. Was there any basis for United Airlines' actions? Did Ms. Zhang's family really pose a threat to aviation safety? And did the flight attendants fulfill their duties in allowing a 12-year-old child to travel alone on an international flight?
This report is brought to you by our intern Wu Jiachuan and reporter Liu Chunxia.
Event Recap:
Dispute Over Luggage Placement
Ms. Zhang told reporters that she and her husband and daughter had signed up for a semi-self-guided tour of Guam organized by a Shanghai-based travel agency. After finishing their local tours, they were scheduled to board Continental Airlines Flight CO1836 back to Shanghai at 6:30 PM Beijing Time on February 1st. It was reported that this flight was chartered by the travel agency, and although the passengers weren't all part of the same group, they were all part of the same batch of travelers departing from Shanghai to Guam.
After completing the check-in procedures, Ms. Zhang’s family boarded the plane but encountered issues when placing their luggage. The Continental Airlines flight attendant informed Ms. Zhang that her luggage could not be placed in the overhead compartment above her seat but needed to be stored in the rear cabin instead. Mr. Zhang, who was carrying his daughter onto the plane, found this strange. "Why can't we place our luggage in the overhead compartment directly above us?" Mr. Zhang asked the flight attendant in English. After a brief exchange, the flight attendant instructed the couple to leave the plane. "My husband might have been a bit emotional, and then that flight attendant told us, once you're on my plane, you must listen to me. I told you to put it in the back, so you should do it, but my husband and I thought this was odd, so we argued a little more, and they kicked us off the plane, claiming we posed a threat to aviation safety."
12-Year-Old Daughter Returns Alone
On the plane filled with Chinese tourists, Ms. Zhang and her husband tried not to be ejected from the plane, but after careful consideration, they apologized to the crew, admitting that their tone during communication had been too intense. However, the flight attendants ignored their apology and instead called the airport police and the captain into the cabin.
Ms. Zhang said, "A group of people came onboard, and the police said they would take us down, leaving us no choice but to apologize even though it didn’t work. Then, the captain came in and agreed with the flight attendants’ decision to eject us from the plane."
Subsequently, American police entered the cabin and indicated that if there were any issues, they should disembark first and communicate afterward. Reluctantly, Ms. Zhang and her husband left the plane, only to find the door immediately closed behind them, and the plane prepared for takeoff.
At this point, Ms. Zhang's daughter, who was under 12 years old, was still on the plane. She attempted to negotiate with the airport staff to bring her daughter down, but none of the staff responded to her request.
Ms. Zhang mentioned that finally, a kind-hearted young woman from Shanghai helped look after her daughter on the plane and safely escorted her to Shanghai.
The next day, through contact made by the travel agency guide, Ms. Zhang and her husband, who had already been removed from the plane, took a layover flight via Korea back to Shanghai. Their ticket prices were $550 per person, totaling $1100.
She stated that after returning to Shanghai, she wanted to seek an explanation from the airline. "The cost of my flight ticket wasn't refunded to me, yet they simply threw my husband and me off the plane, leaving my daughter alone on it. Now, I've hired a lawyer who is handling the matter."
Who Spoke Up, Who Left Together
A Weibo user named "Jiaolege Jiao" was the kind-hearted young woman from Shanghai who helped care for Ms. Zhang's daughter, and she witnessed the entire process, taking photos of the arguments that happened on the plane.
After returning to Shanghai, this kind-hearted young woman uploaded the photos and details of the incident to Weibo, expressing her anger: "It's truly infuriating. On the flight from Guam, USA, back to Shanghai, a Shanghai couple was publicly forced off the plane. The Americans completely disregarded the couple's daughter and insisted on expelling them. The captain refused to fly and, along with the flight attendants, forcibly removed them. Their daughter kept crying, but the Americans turned a blind eye. The Shanghai couple was compelled to apologize for no reason, but the crew still wouldn't budge, firmly resisting such airlines!"
Notably, Ms. Zhang expressed great gratitude for the support from Chinese passengers, recalling: "At the time, all the Chinese around us were speaking up for us. The crew said that if anyone spoke up for us, they'd have to leave together as well. Such behavior is utterly unreasonable." The Chinese tourists seated nearby tried to explain on their behalf, but the American flight attendants continued to emphasize that the couple posed a threat to the flight and refused to let them continue on that flight, stating, "If you don't leave, we will cancel the flight."
》Uniquely Similar Incidents
■ Last June, three passengers changed seats temporarily after boarding, leading to a dispute with the crew. The Southern Airlines captain cited "flight safety" and requested police intervention to remove the passengers, refusing their return to the aircraft.
■ On a United Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Chicago yesterday afternoon, passenger violence against a flight attendant caused the plane to divert to Tokyo Narita Airport, where the violent passenger was handed over to airport police.
■ On a flight from somewhere in the U.S. to San Francisco, a passenger wearing overly loose pants was removed by the captain.
■ A female passenger wearing a white mini tight skirt deemed too revealing was asked to disembark by Southwest Airlines.
■ A children's author in New York, flying United Airlines, cursed due to a delayed flight and was removed after being heard by a flight attendant sitting beside him.
》Voices
United Airlines: They Made Threatening Gestures Toward Crew Members
In response to Ms. Zhang's claims, the reporter contacted United Airlines' Shanghai office. After several attempts, a public relations representative provided the official statement from United Airlines. United Airlines stated: "Before the departure of the flight from Guam to Shanghai on February 1, 2012, two passengers made threatening gestures towards the flight attendants when the attendants attempted to move their carry-on luggage to make room for other passengers' luggage. Therefore, to ensure the safety of the flight and all other passengers, the chief flight attendant decided to notify the Guam airport police to remove these two passengers from the plane."
Whether the Stewardess Cared for the Girl Is Crucial
Professor Fu Dingsheng, a civil law professor at East China University of Political Science and Law, informed the reporter after learning about the incident, "If the captain on duty felt that the passenger indeed posed an aviation threat, then the passenger has to disembark. The subsequent costs of the two $1100 tickets do not constitute infringement. As for their daughter under 12 years old, whether the stewardess on duty fulfilled her duty to care for her — this airline or friends on the plane need to provide evidence to determine whether the airline bears responsibility."
When the reporter contacted the kind-hearted young woman from Shanghai who returned Ms. Zhang's daughter to China, she said she wasn't familiar with the Zhangs and pointed out that the crew did not show any concern for their child. As of yesterday, apart from explaining why the couple was removed from the plane, United Airlines had not responded regarding whether they were aware of the daughter's presence on the plane or whether they cared for her.
Security Measures Improved Significantly After 9/11
What Ms. Zhang found most confusing was what exactly constituted an aviation threat. She believed that she and her husband merely argued with the flight attendants, which shouldn't count as posing an aviation threat.
To address this, the reporter interviewed a domestic airline captain, who stated, "Generally speaking, especially after the cabin doors are closed, verbal disputes with flight attendants can be very dangerous. If this happened domestically, the captain has the authority to eliminate all potential dangers he deems possible, such as asking passengers affecting flight safety to disembark."
The captain also advised that if passengers are asked to change the placement of their luggage before takeoff, it is best to follow the crew's arrangements. "Flight attendants will properly store your luggage and will actively hand it over to you before you disembark, ensuring your luggage won't be lost."
He further explained that especially after the 9/11 attacks, security measures in the U.S. have improved significantly, giving captains more power to eliminate factors that could endanger flights.
The Captain Has the Highest Authority
"This kind of incident happening on an American airline flight is quite normal and happens frequently," an aviation security personnel said after hearing about the case. According to international civil aviation regulations, on any given flight, the captain holds the highest authority. If the captain feels a passenger's behavior may affect flight safety, they have the right to ask the passenger to disembark.
Regarding the outcome of this case, where passengers were removed from the plane over luggage disputes, aviation insiders noted that once passengers board a certain aircraft, they must abide by the relevant laws and regulations of the country to which the aircraft belongs. However, since the legal systems vary among countries, similar actions might lead to different outcomes. "American flights have the strictest safety controls, and their airlines have comprehensive protections for crew rights and passenger complaint evidence collection. Hence, the crew dares to say 'no' to passengers. Once passengers fail to comply with rules and ignore warnings, they are considered to be provoking behavior, and the captain exercises his authority to refuse the passenger on the grounds of 'endangering flight safety.'"
Aviation insiders revealed that similar provisions exist in China's civil aviation regulations. If passengers violate relevant regulations on board and refuse to heed the flight attendants' advice, the captain can also ask the passengers to disembark. However, because China's civil aviation industry started relatively late, passenger qualities vary widely, and corporate cultures differ between airlines, if such an incident occurred on a domestic flight, the likely outcome would be the passenger listening to the advice rather than being directly removed from the plane.
Industry experts reminded passengers to strictly adhere to boarding regulations and cooperate with flight attendants' reminders or advice, especially when traveling abroad on foreign airlines. Additionally, passengers should comply with local laws and regulations to avoid delays in their trips.