Chinese tourists blacklisted after fracas at Bangkok airport

Dozens of tourists from Chongqing burst into rage and the Chinese national anthem at a Bangkok airport on being told of a 10-hour delay in their flight home, creating a massive disturbance, am730 reported Monday.

The Chongqing tourism bureau blacklisted 33 people, requesting all travel agencies not to accept them as members of tour groups, the report said, citing Western China City Daily, a newspaper in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Their flight was scheduled to take off from Don Muang International Airport at 5:40 p.m. Friday, but Orient Thai Airlines delayed it until 3 a.m. the next day because of heavy rain and plane maintenance work.

A Chinese woman booked on the flight said airline staff did bring food to the affected passengers and arranged hotel rooms for them, but some of the Chinese passengers did not want to leave.

They demanded an apology as well as compensation of 1,000 yuan (US$157.39) each, the Chengdu paper said.

The woman said they also shouted at other passengers of the flight for accepting the airline's arrangements and called their tour group leader a “national traitor”.

An video clip posted online showed the emotional tourists singing the Chinese national anthem to show their discontent.

Finally, when it was time to board the flight, some Chinese tourists refused to embark and held hands, singing the national anthem while Thai police tried to drag them aboard.

Some passengers reportedly complained about their seats, because the type of the aircraft for the flight had been changed.

The plane did not take off until 6 a.m. Saturday, leaving behind 33 Chinese passengers who refused to embark.

They ended up taking another flight at 6 p.m. Saturday.

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TL/AC/FL