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Two passengers - already angry over a seven-hour delay on a China Eastern Airlines flight from Kunming in the Yunnan province to Beijing - were arrested Saturday for opening three of the plane's four emergency exit doors as it was being de-iced.
Tensions were already high due to the weather delay among the 153 passengers when the air conditioning on the aircraft was turned off for the de-icing process, according to several news outlets, including CNN International.
When several passengers complained about the stuffy conditions on the flight and began arguing with crew members, at least two of the passengers took things into their own hands and opened the emergency exits as the plane backed away from the gate.
The two were part of a tour group in which 25 passengers were questioned by authorities.
The pilot immediately returned to the gate and the flight was canceled.
According to the Wall Street Journal, police said in an online statement that a Mr. Zhou and a tour guide named Li have been placed under 15-day "administrative detention" for the incident.
An airplane's ventilation system is commonly turned off during the de-icing process so that passengers do not breathe in the noxious fumes from the chemical spray. The WSJ noted that China Eastern maintenance engineer Zhu Yun told CCTV "Opening those doors was extremely dangerous because there was nothing to protect passengers from the force of the engines."
This is the latest in a long line of air-rage incidents in China, where the WSJ noted that long flight delays are commonplace due to the military's restrictive control of airspace. Last month, a Thai AirAsia flight was forced to return to Bangkok after a Chinese passenger threw hot water at a flight attendant.
Two years ago, 50 passengers created chaos in Kunming when their flight was canceled and they stormed other gates in the terminal area to prevent other passengers from getting on flights that weren't canceled.
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