Woman removed from plane after refusing to put luxury bag under seat, delaying flight by one hour
A woman was escorted off the plane after she caused an hour-long delay by refusing to put her luxury handbag under the seat in front of her.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that a passenger posted a video of the incident on the social media platform Douyin, getting over four million views and sparking heated discussions.
The passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, said the woman from China, sitting in economy class, insisted on putting her Louis Vuitton bag next to her instead of under the seat in front.
Plane passengers are required to put their bags under the seat in front of them so when turbulence happens, there is no risk of the bags being thrown around, which might injure people or block escape routes.
The China Express Airlines flight from an airport in Chongqing municipality to Hebei province was already departing but had to return to the boarding gate.
The incident delayed the flight by one hour and disrupted the departure times of later flights, SCMP reported.
Police escorted the woman off the plane, prompting a round of applause from passengers.
The bag reportedly costs about $3,000 (P171,000), while the flight costs $110 (P6,200).
The incident received mixed reactions from social media users.
Some individuals criticized the passenger, while others said the flight attendant might have been "overzealous" in her duties.
“She valued the bag more than her life,” a user said on the microblogging network Weibo.
“The flight attendant could have offered her a bag to put her handbag in. Is it really necessary to waste an hour and kick her off the plane?” a user wrote on Douyin.
Another user claimed to see many economy class passengers who put their small bags on the seat during take-off but weren't asked to remove them.
A social media user also said the flight attendant did not insist on the rule for nothing, and the woman should value her safety and her co-passengers rather than the bag.
The airline did not respond to requests for comment. The woman's identity was not also revealed, according to SCMP.