China appears to have their coronavirus outbreak largely under control. However they’re now encouraging – even subsidizing – a return of international flights. I’ve worried that they would bring back infected passengers.
Naturally they’ve thought through this problem, and with the current low volume of international flying they are examining each passenger entering the country. Even at the current low volume of international travel to China, though, that’s backing up arriving flights by several hours in some cases. And that can cause unruly passengers.
On Friday Thai Airways flight TG 664 from Bangkok to Shanghai was delayed on arrival for nearly 7 hours. Passengers became agitated and one passenger “deliberately cough[ed] on staff in a bid to get them to open the plane’s doors so passengers could disembark.”
The woman ‘went stir crazy’ and apparently thought that if she acted up her flight would receive arrival priority. Instead it got her restrained, as we can see from video by another passenger on the aircraft.
“One Chinese woman went stir crazy on a Thai Airways flight and deliberately coughed on a female flight attendant to try to pressure staff to open the doors and let her out”, Fugu M wrote in a post.
Footage shows the woman being restrained by an air steward, while other members of the cabin crew, who can be seen wearing face masks come to his assistance. One member of the crew can be heard saying “stay down! Stay down, please!”
Fortunately the coughing passenger calmed down and “agreed to sit and wait for the screening procedure to begin.”
(HT: Jeff W.)
One sympathizes. Seven hours…!
No doubt the Thai government is going to have to cough up another few billions to keep this awful airline afloat
Today, they were checking the temperature of everyone getting in the secured section of the airport at BKK.
Thailand is in full fledged panic about the coronavirus, except that most are going about their life. No work, no eat, or so the Thais say.
Since I am flying, I tried to buy masks, but every store is sold out of them. So I am probably going to be the only person on the plane without a mask.
I cannot wait to get back to New York, but I have heard that the panic is going on there too.