Two passengers have been detained by police for throwing coins at a plane for good luck before takeoff in east China.

The passengers, reported to be two women in their mid-20s, were removed from the Lucky Air flight after they each admitted to tossing a 1 yuan coin as they were boarding the plane at Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport on Sunday night.

As a result of the incident, flight 8L9616 from Jinan, Shandong province to Chengdu, Sichuan was delayed for two hours, affecting 260 passengers on the plane, Lucky Air confirmed to MailOnline.

The passengers, reported to be two women in their mid-20s, were removed from the Lucky Air flight after they each admitted to throwing a 1 yuan coin as they were boarding the plane at Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport on Sunday night (file photo)

Luck Air urged passengers to comply with civil aviation laws and regulations and avoid behaviour that could prove detrimental to the safety of passengers (file photo)

The superstitious passengers were hoping for a safe journey when they threw the coins through the narrow gap between the jet bridge and the plane, according to Lucky Air. It is unclear if they were travelling together.

A staff member noticed the passengers throwing the coins and alerted police officers at the airport.

The pair were detained after the coins were found on the ground near the front of the plane during the pre-flight check.

The pilot decided to continue the flight as the coins were found at a distance away from the engine, the spokesperson added. The flight took off at 10:02pm local time, two hours later than scheduled and arrived at Chengdu safely.

A similar incident happened just a month ago when a 28-year-old man was detained for throwing two 1 yuan coins at another Lucky Air passenger jet in Anqing, Anhui province

A witness who was on the affected plane told video news site Pear that two uniformed officers removed two women from the plane following an announcement about the incident.

'All the other passengers were speechless. We didn't think something like this could actually happen,' she said. 'They looked like they were in their mid-20s.'

The engine of an aircraft would be severely damaged or even destroyed if a coin is sucked into it, according to a professor at Civil Aviation University of China cited by China Daily in a previous report.

'The engine could tremble, lose speed and even stop in mid-air if a coin were sucked into its core,' he said. 'That would put all the passengers on board at great risk.'

This is not the first time a passenger has attempted to toss coins into an aircraft engine for good fortune and a safe flight.

The man was detained by authorities for seven days after the coins were found on the ground near the engine during the preflight check

Just a month ago, a 28-year-old man was detained for seven days after he admitted to throwing two 1 yuan coins at another Lucky Air passenger jet in Anqing, Anhui province, causing the flight to be cancelled. A total of 162 passengers were affected and the incident caused the airline nearly 140,000 yuan (£16,000).

In June 2017, an 80-year-old woman threw her change at a China Southern Airlines flight at Shanghai Pudong Airport to pray for a safe flight, causing a five-hour delay and one million yuan in damages. She was not charged due to her age.

Several months later in the same year, a 76-year-old woman flung several coins into the engine of a Lucky Air flight, also Kunming-bound from Anqing. She was detained but not charged.

Luck Air previously urged passengers to comply with civil aviation laws and regulations and avoid behaviour that could prove detrimental to the safety of passengers.

'Not only does tossing coins not give you good luck, it will endanger aviation safety and land you in detention. You could be fined and prosecuted,' the airline warned.