Woman lies on floor in protest during 11-hour delay on Hong Kong airlines flight


An 11-hour delay on a Hong Kong Airlines flight has led to complaints from passengers, with one woman even spreading herself on the floor in protest on Monday night.

Flight HX312 was supposed to carry 263 passengers from Hong Kong to Beijing at 3:35pm, but the plane remained on the tarmac. At around 4pm, the crew let passengers go back into the terminal and gave them HK$75 vouchers for food.

Travellers boarded the plane again at 8pm, but became frustrated as they waited.

hk airlines delay

Photo: Provided to Apple Daily.

At around midnight, someone called the police as passengers complained to the crew. Video sent to Apple Daily by a passenger surnamed Kam showed passengers gathering around the door to the aircraft, complaining and arguing with crew members.

When police officers boarded the plane, one woman laid on the floor in front of the door in protest. She reportedly calmed down when police officers comforted her.

Hong Kong actress Lily Ho, who was on board, told Oriental Daily that she tried to pacify the woman. “It’s not good for a 40, 50 year old woman to lie on the floor. After the police came, they asked her whether they should call an ambulance for her, but she said no, she just wanted to go home.”

hk airlines delay

Photo: Provided to Apple Daily.

Police told HK01 that, at 12:21am, it received a call from an airline staff member, who was worried about passengers creating trouble as they waited for the plane to take off. Officers did not uncover any disputes when they arrived, and police said that the scene was orderly.

A Hong Kong Airlines spokesperson told Apple Daily that the flight was delayed due to air traffic in Beijing. It was further delayed when the airline had to switch crews, as the on-duty crew had reached their working time limits.

Passenger Kam said: “I am most angry about the fact that the captain and airline management never clearly explained to us the reason for the delay.”

The flight finally took off at 2am, and landed in Beijing at 5:24am. The airline apologised for the inconvenience it caused passengers.