Civil Aviation
Air China Passenger Opens Emergency Door Instead Of Bathroom Door
An Air China flight from Quzhou Airport to Chengdu was cancelled on Thursday after a first-time flyer mistakenly opened an emergency exit door, thinking it was a restroom. The incident, which occurred around 8:45 pm, caused the evacuation slide to deploy.
Police confirmed on Friday that it was the passenger’s first flight. The evacuation slide, however, opened in front of her when she entered a door that she thought was the bathroom door.
The crew evacuated the woman and the other passengers from the airplane after the slide was deployed, and the flight was subsequently canceled.
As the evacuation slide suddenly emerged, even the flight attendants were shocked, a passenger informed local media that the woman had opened the door without anyone else seeing. Upon learning that she would have to pay damages, the female passenger broke down in tears.
The plane will now be grounded for maintenance for several days, and the woman may have to pay up to £22,000 for opening the emergency door.
Furthermore, as it is against the law in China to open an aircraft’s emergency departure doors, she may be subject to significant fines or possibly administrative detention.
Police questioned the woman once she got off the plane. Around nine o’clock at night, it appeared that no one was in the back operation area when a passenger in search of restrooms unintentionally opened the emergency door.”
There was no sound when the slide deployed,” a passenger stated. Following the incident, they postponed the flight and eventually canceled it. Air China brought us to a hotel so we could relax.”
Everyone on the plane had to stay at a hotel after a woman rushed to the back cabin and opened the emergency door,” said another traveler. We were compensated 400 yuan ($60) today.