Angry passenger ‘bites’ crew member during mid-air fight

TWO passengers on Shenzhen Airlines got into a huge brawl, delaying the flight for two hours after the arm of a cabin crew member was bitten by a raging passenger engaged in the fight - as she tried to pacify the situation.

The conflict unfolded on April 1, when the plane - scheduled to fly from Shenzhen in Southern China to Shanghai - was ready to take off, the South China Morning Post reported.

The conflict began between two woman passengers sitting next to each other. One of them complained about the other's body odour, while the other objected to the strong smell of her fellow passenger's perfume.

A verbal altercation between them soon gave way to a physical confrontation. Two female flight attendants and two male colleagues attempted to intervene and break up the fight.

The attendant suffered slight injuries to her arm and was immediately rushed to the hospital, while the two passengers involved in the confrontation were taken away by the 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 civilized manner,” the company said.

The incident has elicited a myriad of reactions on social media. Here are some of the reactions:

“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 suggest this attendant take some vaccines to make sure she has not been infected by any viruses because of being bitten by the passenger.”