A traveler throws a coin into an airplane turbine in China – big delay

A traveler threw coins into a plane's turbine on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, delaying the plane's take-off by several hours. The affected China Southern Airlines confirmed to Chinese state radio that the airport police had taken the passenger away. The plane was supposed to fly from Sanya to Beijing on Wednesday morning (local time). According to Chinese media reports, the passenger's coin toss caused a delay of nearly four hours because the plane's turbines had to be checked.

In recent years, air travelers in China have repeatedly thrown coins into aircraft turbines. In superstitious rituals, the engine may function as a kind of good wish with which passengers wish for a safe journey. However, the flight and ground crews were then forced to carry out a tedious inspection of the turbines, resulting in long delays. In February 2019, a man was placed in disciplinary detention for 10 days after his coin toss into the engine caused a domestic flight from Anqing to Kunming to be cancelled. According to media reports, he was later ordered to pay 120,000 yuan (about 15,000 francs today) to the airlines involved.

Chinese airlines are now showing videos on flights about passenger misconduct in recent years and the penalties they have received because of it. China Southern Airlines released a video on the online platform Weibo following the incident in Hainan. In it, the airline drew attention to the risks of “uncivilized behaviour” such as throwing coins into turbines for the sake of flight safety and consequences such as cancellation. (asthma/sda/dpa)