On Saturday, passengers on a plane departing Kunming Changshui International Airport in southwestern China, angry with the crew for turning off the air-conditioning during the de-icing process, opened three emergency exits just as their plane was pushing back from the gate.
The flight was canceled and 25 passengers onboard were detained.
China Eastern Airlines flight MU2036, bound for Beijing, was already seven hours behind schedule at 3:45 a.m. when crew began to de-ice the plane at the Kunming airport, which saw more than 100 flights delayed or canceled that night because of snowy weather.
Frustrated by the lengthy delay, some of the 153 passengers — who had been sitting on the plane for two hours — exploded with rage when the air-conditioning stopped and an elderly passenger complained about discomfort due to the stuffy cabin, airport police told state media Saturday night.
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Then, in April, a Thai Airways red-eye from Bangkok to Beijing turned bloody when a brawl involving three Chinese men broke out.
During an official visit to the Maldives in September, President Xi Jinping personally asked Chinese tourists to behave themselves while traveling abroad.
Last year the government released a lengthy list of do’s and don’ts aimed at turning Chinese travelers into “civilized tourists.”
