Shenzhen airport punished for poor handling of flight delays that caused angry passengers to misbehave
PUBLISHED : Monday, 03 August, 2015, 10:33pm
UPDATED : Monday, 03 August, 2015, 10:34pm
Nectar Gan [email protected]
Shenzhen Baoan International Airport failed to deal appropriately with large-scale flight delays, says China's Civil Aviation Administration. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
China’s civil aviation authority has sternly censured Shenzhen airport and two airlines operating in it over their poor management of large-scale flight delays.
The Civil Aviation Administration said on its website on Monday that as punishment, it would stop accepting the Shenzhen Baoan International Airport’s applications for new flight routes, to increase flights and offer air charter services.
The penalties, which took effect this month, will last until the end of the year, it said.
The administration also named China United Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines in its criticism.
Since the second half of last year, large-scale flight delays in Shenzhen had triggered several incidents with “significant social impact”, the authority said.
It gave the example of a four-hour delay of a China United Airlines flight departing Shenzhen for Beijing in May, during which a passenger opened the plane’s emergency door.
That same month, passengers on a delayed Shenzhen Airlines flight broke into the jet bridge and in another incident, passengers on another delayed flight from the same airline arrived at the plane before the flight crew appeared, the statement said.
Also in May, passengers on a China Southern Airlines flight smashed a counter at the boarding gate after a four-hour delay.
The administration said investigators into the incidents found a lack of smooth coordination and effective communication to deal with flight delays.
It called for airlines and airports across the country to better cope with large-scale flight delays and avoid similar incidents.
