Six tourists from China were arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting airport staff after their flight to Beijing was delayed for more than six hours.

Chinese news site Shanghaiist reported that the incident happened at about 2.30am. More than 100 passengers on a Hong Kong Airlines flight were stranded at the airport due to delays.

A female passenger from China reportedly tried to force her way onto an airplane and seven staff members from the airline company rushed to stop her.

News site Apple Daily reported that five other agitated passengers also got physical with the staff members. During the chaos that ensued, three male and four female staff members were injured and sent to the hospital.

Police arrived at the scene and arrested three men and three women for "common assault".

The flight left Hong Kong at 4.45am, 81/2 hours after it was scheduled to take off, according to the South China Morning Post,

In 2014, a plane flying from Shanghai to Hong Kong was grounded in Shenzhen, forcing passengers to spend the night on the plane. Passengers became so enraged that crew members had to guard the doors to keep them from breaking out.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg