Air China passenger takes staff hostage using fountain pen
BEIJING:AN Air China flight bound for Beijing was diverted to central China on Sunday after a passenger tried to hold a flight attendant hostage using a fountain pen as a weapon, the country’s civil aviation authority said.
All passengers and crew on Flight 1350 made it safely off the plane after it landed in Zhengzhou city at 10 am due to what had earlier been described by authorities as an unspecified “illegal interference.”
The flight had taken off at 8.40 am from the city of Changsha in Hunan province and was scheduled to land in Beijing at 11 am
The Civil Aviation Authority of China said in a statement on its website that the plane was diverted when a male passenger held a flight attendant hostage.
It said only that “the matter was successfully handled” by 1.17 pm but did not provide any details. The alleged hostagetaker’s status was unclear.
In its brief report on the microblog Weibo.com, state broadcaster China Central Television included an image of what appeared to be paramilitary police in combat uniforms and helmets assembled outside a Zhengzhou airport hotel and another image of several ambulances.
The Zhengzhou airport immediately activated emergency measures, its statement said, adding that the passengers who disembarked were in a stable mood and that the airport is operating normally.
The airline said police and aviation authorities were handling the matter and refused to provide further information.
It said that it was arranging for another plane to pick up the passengers from Zhengzhou.