HONG KONG: A Beijing-bound Dragonair flight here was delayed for two-and-a-half hours when a couple with their infant baby refused to leave the toilet and return to their seats.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported that the mainland Chinese couple and their infant child were eventually removed from flight KA902 at Chek Lap Kok airport because of their antics.

In the 3pm incident on Saturday, an airline spokesman said the mother of the child, 33, was cleaning her one-year-old boy in the toilet after he had defecated but did not close the door, just as the flight was preparing to take off.

A foul smell then permeated through the aircraft cabin, drawing complaints from other passengers.

Despite complaints, the couple refused to return to their seats when approached by members of the flight crew and continued cleaning their child.

The in-flight service manager then alerted the flight captain, who subsequently asked the family to disembark from the plane at 4.30pm, on the grounds of maintaining cabin hygiene, the interests of other passengers and physical condition of the boy.

They refused to leave, and airline staff had to call for police assistance at about 4.55pm.

The trio only got off the flight when authorities stepped in, and the flight took off at 5.40pm.

A spokesman from the airline said no arrests were made and the trio were put on another Dragonair flight later in the day, South China Morning Post reported.