Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2130743/chinese-budget-airline-passenger-held-over-brawl-japanese-airport
China/ People & Culture

Chinese budget airline passenger held over brawl at Japanese airport

Conflict erupts after stranded passengers told to leave Tokyo facility by midnight

Japanese police arrested a Chinese passenger after conflict broke out in Narita airport on Wednesday night. Photo: News.sina.com.cn

Japanese police have arrested a Chinese passenger after a brawl with staff at a Tokyo airport, the Chinese embassy in the Japanese capital said on Friday.

The embassy said the brawl erupted on Wednesday night at Narita International Airport after bad weather forced the cancellation of a budget airline’s flight to Shanghai, stranding 175 Chinese passengers.

The carrier did not cover delay-related expenses so some of the passengers took the airline’s advice to book into a nearby hotel.

A flight cancellation stranded 175 Chinese passengers at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Wednesday night. Photo: News.sina.com.cn
A flight cancellation stranded 175 Chinese passengers at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Wednesday night. Photo: News.sina.com.cn

But more than 100 others insisted on staying at the terminal because they did not want to pay extra for a hotel and food.

Conflict broke out when airport staff tried to clear the facility, which by Japanese law must close at midnight.

The embassy did not reveal details of the clash or the name of the airline, saying only that the passenger was still in custody on Friday afternoon and had access to a lawyer and translator.

The other passengers flew back to Shanghai early Friday morning.

The embassy said the airline did not notify the passengers in Chinese about the airport’s nightly closure.