Early on April 22nd, an AirAsia flight D7809 from Chongqing to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was disrupted by a Chinese female passenger who claimed to be a flight attendant from China Southern Airlines. The captain eventually decided to return the aircraft to its parking position. Airport authorities boarded the plane to handle the situation and removed the woman from the flight. The incident caused a nearly two-hour delay and sparked discussions among netizens.
The AirAsia flight was scheduled to depart Chongqing for Kuala Lumpur at 2 a.m. on April 22nd. After passengers boarded, a Chinese female passenger claiming to be a staff member of China Southern Airlines became agitated and started making loud phone calls inside the cabin because her companions were unable to board the flight. A Malaysian passenger sitting nearby asked her to lower her voice, but she refused, leading to a confrontation.
As the argument escalated, flight crew members intervened to mediate the situation in English. However, the woman became upset that the staff did not speak Chinese and began causing a scene.
A video circulated online showed the woman saying to the staff, “Who compensates me for the delay in my journey, who will handle my problems? If you can’t handle things on the plane today, don’t fly at all! As cabin crew, if you can’t even understand Chinese, how can you serve on an international flight? I am a flight attendant from China Southern Airlines. Let me tell you, what is the basic principle of being a service staff? It’s to provide good service. If you can’t even understand Chinese, why are you still flying international flights? What’s the point?”
Additionally, the woman stated, “I was making a phone call next to him, what did I do wrong? I admit that my voice was a bit loud at the beginning, which may have affected his mood. He asked me to lower my voice, but the plane has not taken off yet. What’s the problem with me making a call now? Once the plane takes off, the network will naturally be cut off, and I won’t be able to make calls.”
The captain ultimately decided to taxi the aircraft back to its parking position. Airport authorities boarded the plane and escorted the woman off. The flight was originally scheduled to depart at 2 a.m. and arrive at its destination at 6:45 a.m. However, according to flight data, the actual departure time was 3:46 a.m., resulting in a delay of 1 hour and 46 minutes. It arrived at 8:14 a.m., delayed by 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Subsequent reports from mainland media revealed that although the following flights eventually departed as planned, multiple connecting passengers missed their flights and were forced to stay in Kuala Lumpur for a day. Pre-booked hotels were all canceled, leading to significant financial losses and disruptions to their schedules.
The incident has stirred discussions among netizens, with comments such as “Monsters raised by the Party-State,” “These people just think they have a so-called ‘powerful’ homeland,” “As a flight attendant, how can she not know to switch her phone to flight mode?” and “That voice and demeanor are probably from ground staff.”
However, China Southern Airlines responded to mainland media reports, stating that the woman involved was not an employee of the airline.