Bussiness
First-time plane passenger sparks chaos after opening emergency door instead of bathroom
A first-time plane passenger sparked chaos after mistakenly opening up the plane’s emergency exit door while on the hunt for the toilet.
The mix-up unfolded when Air China flight 2754 was waiting on the tarmac at Quzhou Airport in China’s eastern Zhejiang Province last Thursday night, the South China Morning Post reported.
The rookie flier had gone to the back of the plane and tore open the door without anyone noticing — causing the evacuation slide to deploy.
“When the evacuation slide popped out, even the flight attendants were startled,” said one passenger, only identified as Cheng.
A photo circulating on Chinese social media showed the aircraft parked in the middle of the tarmac with the slide in place.
The plane had to be emptied of passengers and the flight was eventually canceled.
“The female passenger was in tears when she heard that she would need to pay damages,” said Cheng, the fellow passenger.
The cost of activating the plane’s emergency door is roughly $28,000, the outlet reported.
The woman responsible for the glitch was questioned by cops in the aftermath. She was not identified in the report.
It sparked alarm online, with some questioning if it was a worrying “design flaw” for the passenger to unknowingly open the exit so easily.