Thai police escort Chinese passenger off flight for opening emergency exit
- Thai Lion Air passengers get a scare as flight is preparing for take-off from Bangkok to Wuhan
- Man appeared frightened and repeatedly apologised to cabin crew
A Chinese man was escorted off a plane by Thai police on Wednesday after opening an emergency exit as his flight bound for central China was preparing to take off from Bangkok, according to a Chinese newspaper.
Thai Lion Air flight SL940 was scheduled to leave Don Mueang Airport for Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, at 6.55pm but the incident caused its take-off to be delayed until 8.47pm, according to Flightview.com.
According to a witness, the man reached for the handle of the emergency exit and pulled it downwards, Chutian Metropolis Daily reported on Friday.
Shocked passengers shouted at him and a member of the cabin crew ran to the scene, the report said.
The witness was quoted as saying that the man seemed frightened and kept apologising to the flight attendant, saying he did not know he was not supposed to open the door.