A Shenzhen Airlines flight from Shanghai to Shenzhen was delayed by two hours on April 1 following a physical fight between two female passengers over body odour and perfume. The fight broke out just as the plane was about to take off, the South China Morning Post reported.
As there was a heated argument between the women over strong perfume and body odour, four cabin staff, two of whom were women and two who were men, stepped in to defuse the situation. During the fight, one of the flight attendants was bitten.
A viral video of the incident has the attendant yelling, “Open your mouth. You have bitten me!” Shenzhen Airlines confirmed that the crew member was slightly injured on her arm and was immediately rushed to a hospital. Her condition was fortunately described as non-serious.
Both the passengers were made to deplane after the occurrence and were permitted to re-enter the aircraft upon a two-hour delay. Both the women have been surrendered to local authorities. The authorities are yet to declare any possible judicial actions against them.
In a release, Shenzhen Airlines denounced the incident and emphasized the need to conduct themselves in a decorous manner onboard. “Shenzhen Airlines does its utmost to protect the legal rights of its passengers as well as its staff. We appeal to passengers to respect the regulations and take your journeys in a civilized way,” the airline said.
The incident has riled Chinese social media. One commenter said, “These two women must be blacklisted from traveling by any plane and train in the future. Such illogical people will be a threat to any event.” Another commenter showed sympathy towards the injured attendant and said, “How difficult a work attendant’s is! I would like this attendant to take some vaccines to ensure that she has not been infected by any viruses due to being bitten by the passenger.”
Passenger bad behavior has been an ongoing concern in China. A similar incident last May involved a fight between two men on a Taipei to Los Angeles flight, which resulted in a crew member being struck while attempting to break up the fight. The passengers were detained when the flight landed.
