On February 3, a passenger detention incident caused by a flight delay caused widespread concern at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. According to a number of passengers, they were on China Southern Airlines flight CZ6513 which was delayed from 11 a.m. to more than 8 p.m., and was eventually forced to cancel. During this long wait, passengers were trapped in the plane for nearly six hours, during which one passenger even called 120 for emergency services** due to breathing difficulties.
One female passenger later recalled: "We got on the plane from 3 p.m. until almost 9 p.m. The air in the cabin is getting worse and worse, there are old people and children, and the children are so suffocated that their faces are flushed, and the old people are no longer good. We tried to communicate with the staff, but the response we got always made us patient. In desperation, some passengers ran to the cabin to communicate with the captain, but the staff stopped them on safety grounds.
It is understood that during the long wait, the passengers repeatedly asked to get off the plane, but were told that they could not arrange it due to weather conditions. Some passengers said they had called 110 to call the police** as many as 23 times, but ** said they could not enter the airport to intervene. Passengers also tried to contact China Southern customer service for help, but were told that they could not coordinate a transfer to another airline.
This incident has sparked heated discussions on social **. Many netizens said that although the flight delay caused by the weather was understandable, China Southern Airlines' attitude and emergency measures in dealing with the incident were disappointing. They questioned why passengers were kept waiting on the plane, knowing that the flight could be delayed for a long time, instead of arranging to disembark in time and providing the necessary assistance and reassurance.
China Southern Airlines has not yet given an official response to the incident. However, according to a report by the Xiaoxiang Morning News, China Southern Airlines' customer service staff said that in the case of a long delay, passengers will generally be arranged to get off the plane and go to the hotel to rest. However, in this case, this measure was not implemented in a timely manner.
This flight delay incident not only exposed the airline's inadequacy in responding to emergencies, but also aroused public concern about the protection of passengers' rights and interests. In the future, it is hoped that airlines can strengthen internal management, improve service quality, and ensure that the rights and interests of passengers can be protected in a timely and effective manner under similar circumstances.