Unlucky coin toss lands another Chinese airline passenger in trouble
- First-time flier was praying for blessings for a safe trip in fifth incident this year
- Airline appeals to travellers not to be superstitious
A woman in southern China has been detained for flipping six coins at a plane to pray for a safe trip, in the fifth such incident this year.
The pony-tailed passenger was seen on surveillance camera footage throwing coins just before boarding China Southern Airlines flight CZ8427 from Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, to Bangkok on Saturday.
The airline said on its Weibo microblog account that the woman, a first-time flier, threw the coins to pray for blessings. The coins were all found and the flight took off after a delay of 78 minutes.
“Please don’t be superstitious,” China Southern said. “Abide by aviation safety regulations when taking planes and don't throw things.”
China has seen numerous such incidents since the first reported case in 2017, when an elderly woman threw a handful of coins at a China Southern Airlines plane. She was released without punishment after a stern lecture from police.