A domestic flight from Urumqi to Hubei turned into a security drama yesterday after a passenger set fire to toilet paper in the washroom, forcing the aircraft to return to the Xinjiang capital.
Xinhua said a man and a woman were arrested after the flight landed at the Diwobao International Airport in Urumqi. It did not give the identities or ethnicity of the two people.
Security has been tight in Xinjiang, which has been on knife edge since ethnic riots in July, and yesterday's scare was similar to a 2008 incident in which a Uygur woman tried to bring down a flight to Beijing by starting a fire in the toilet.
Xinhua said crew of China Southern Airlines flight CZ6939 - bound for Hubei's capital Wuhan - discovered the passenger's action after take-off. It did not explain why two passengers were arrested.
Customer service officers for Southern Airlines said the flight had been scheduled to fly to Wuhan via Xian , the capital city of Shaanxi . It was to depart at 3pm, but was delayed about 30 minutes due to 'mechanical failure and passenger-related causes'.
The officers claimed that they did not know details of the incident, but said all passengers were safe. The flight eventually left for its scheduled destinations after a 30-minute delay.
A duty officer at the Diwobao International Airport's Public Security Bureau confirmed two people were arrested, but refused to give details. 'As I know, the case is still under investigation,' she said.