On December 30, 2023, China Eastern Airlines flight MU679S flew from Beijing Daxing Airport to Chengdu Tianfu Airport, but the departure time was postponed to 23:05 due to weather conditions. However, at around eleven o'clock in the evening, a man named Dong caused a riot in the cabin. He asked the flight attendant to upgrade his nanny for free, and after being dissatisfied with the refusal, he further threatened to complain to the airline. The incident caused the scheduled flight to be delayed until 2 a.m., causing unnecessary losses to more than 300 passengers. Dong's behavior undoubtedly aroused the dissatisfaction and accusations of other passengers, and also aroused widespread attention and heated discussions on social **.
In response to Dong's excessive demands and the impact on the airline's flight delays, various circles have put forward some criticisms and condemnations for his behavior. For seeing his children crying on the plane but not doing anything to comfort and take care of him, Dong's request is undoubtedly unreasonable. As a service industry, airlines are always guided by the needs of their customers, but they also need reasonable requirements and mutual respect. The airline reminded Dong to take good care of the child, which is based on the overall interests of passengers, and the rights and interests of any individual passenger cannot be above other passengers. Dong's behavior not only affected the normal riding experience of other passengers, but also interfered with the normal business order of the airline.
Dong's excesses not only delayed the flight, but also caused unnecessary troubles and losses to other passengers. In this incident, the issue of China Eastern Airlines' mishandling has also attracted much attention. First, China Eastern failed to take effective measures to quickly deal with Dong's misconduct, resulting in a further lengthening of the flight delay. Second, in order to cover up its own work mistakes, China Eastern Airlines did not provide reasonable compensation measures to the affected passengers in a timely manner under the pretext of weather conditions. Under such circumstances, China Eastern Airlines needs to rethink and improve its emergency response plan to improve its ability to respond to emergencies.
For Dong's behavior, the airline should take serious action in accordance with the law. In accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations, article 23 of the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law", article 291 of the "Criminal Law", and the "Opinions on Appropriately Restricting Certain Seriously Untrustworthy Persons from Riding Civil Aircraft for a Certain Period of Time to Promote the Establishment of the Social Credit System" all have clear provisions on such conduct. The airline can punish Dong in accordance with relevant laws and regulations to serve as a warning and demonstration.
In addition, airlines shall provide reasonable compensation packages to affected passengers in a timely manner. For passengers who are unable to travel according to their scheduled itinerary due to flight delays, airlines should provide suitable options such as changing or refunding tickets, and provide corresponding compensation measures, such as providing hotel accommodation, compensation costs, etc. The details of the compensation plan should be open and transparent, so that passengers can understand and choose. It is hoped that China Eastern Airlines will issue a detailed and feasible compensation plan as soon as possible to demonstrate respect and attitude towards passengers.
In life, if a passenger encounters a similar incident, he or she can also request compensation from the service provider in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations. The relevant provisions on the rights and interests of passengers in the Civil Code and the Civil Aviation Law can be used as a reference.
Finally, it is hoped that airlines can improve their ability to deal with emergencies, strengthen staff training and communication and coordination, and improve service quality and image to better meet the needs of passengers.