Please, be reasonable about flight delays

CHINESE EMBASSY STAFF MEMBERS intervened and arranged for local accommodation to be provided after a group of irate Chinese passengers began shouting Chinese slogans and singing the national anthem at Tokyo airport on Jan 24 in protest at the detention of one unruly Chinese passenger angered over the delay of a flight to Shanghai. Chinese passengers of delayed flights then followed suit in Sri Lanka on Jan 27 and in Iran on Jan 28 after their flights were delayed. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

The Chinese passengers in all of the three cases contacted the local Chinese embassies for assistance, and through the mediation of the local embassy staff, the situations were resolved and all the Chinese passengers of the flights concerned were put up in local hotels.

While some netizens have claimed that it was “sensible” of the staff at the embassies to come to the airports to safeguard the passengers’ legal interests, those passengers that shouted slogans or sang the national anthem together in the airport terminals to vent their frustration at the flight delays, closely guarded two secrets: That they were flying on lowcost, no-frills airlines where cheaper prices are at the expense of services, and that other passengers taking the same flights with them remained calm and did not create a disturbance.

It is ridiculous to try to solve flight delays, which in most cases are caused by the weather, traffic control and mechanical problems, by simply pressuring the staff working at the airlines’ front desks at airports.

The Department of Consular Affairs at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said Chinese tourists should read the ticket terms carefully before choosing a low-cost airline, so they know clearly the rights and limitations of their ticket. The department also said that if a flight is delayed, passengers should safeguard their legitimate rights in a rational manner and avoid aggressively pursuing demands beyond the contract, to avoid unnecessary disputes.

It is not the role of embassies to act as tourist agencies.