A Shenzhen Airlines flight was delayed for two hours after the arm of a member of the cabin crew was bitten when she intervened in a row between two passengers.
According to a statement from the airline, the incident unfolded on April 1 when a plane scheduled to fly from Shenzhen in southern China to Shanghai was ready to take off.
The conflict erupted between two female passengers sitting near each other.
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One of the women was complaining about the other’s body odour, while the other was objecting to the strong smell of her fellow passenger’s perfume, according to a report by the media outlet, Shenzhen Business News.
Their verbal spat quickly escalated into a physical confrontation.
Two women flight attendants and a pair of male colleagues tried to step in and stop the fight.
A viral video clip shows that as the melee ensued, one of the flight attendants shouted out: “Open your mouth. You have bitten me!”
The attendant suffered slight injuries to her arm, according to her employer.
She was immediately sent to hospital where she was said to be in a “non-serious condition”.
The two passengers were subsequently taken away by police.
It is not clear what punishment they will receive. All other passengers were told to get off the aircraft. They reboarded the plane two hours later.
“Shenzhen Airlines does its best to safeguard the legal rights of both passengers and its employees. We call on passengers to obey the rules and take your trips in a civilised manner,” the company said.
The incident caused a buzz on mainland social media.
“These two women should be blacklisted from taking any planes and trains in the future. Such irrational people will pose a danger in any venue,” one netizen said.
While another said: “How hard an attendant’s job is! I suggested this attendant take some vaccines to make sure she has not been infected by any viruses because of being bitten by the passenger.”
News stories about flight passenger confrontations often make headlines in China.
In May last year, two male passengers on a plane from Taipei to Los Angeles fought each other over the use of a seat. A flight attendant was hit on the head by one of them as they tried to intervene.
The two passengers were taken away by the police on landing.
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