Captain removed for instigating flight delay protest
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E-mail Ecns.cn, December 2, 2016
A captain of Lucky Air was suspended from flying and removed from his post for encouraging passengers to get off the plane in which they were waiting to take off to express their discontent.
Lucky Air flight 8L9917 was scheduled to leave at 0:05 on Nov. 28 for Kunming, but it remained on the ground till 0:40, according to a passenger surnamed Guo.
Guo said the captain later said some other plane had jumped the line so their flight was delayed, and that similar cases have occurred many times before.
In protest, the captain allegedly asked passengers to get off the plane and congregate on the parking apron at Xishuangbanna Gasa Airport in Yunnan Province on Monday, according to Beijing Youth Daily. Several passengers then made a circle to play shuttlecock.
"The captain asked us to get off the plane in a protest and demand an explanation from the airport," Guo said, "some passengers then started to kick a shuttlecock around for entertainment."
The person added that some security staff tried to stop the passengers but failed.
The protest lasted until 1:00 a.m. when the captain told the passengers that disputes with the airport had been settled.
Flight information showed the Lucky Air plane finally took off at 3 a.m. and arrived in Kunming 50 minutes later.
Affected by the incident, 12 passengers canceled their trips.
The airline has started an investigation into the case. In a statement issued later on Wednesday, Lucky Air said misunderstanding in communications between the flight and the airport's maintenance crew had caused the incident.
It had arranged hotels for the affected passengers and helped them book other flights.
The captain has been suspended from flying and removed from his post for mishandling the situation, the statement said.
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