Rush to emergency exit lands Chinese first-time flier in detention

An elderly first-time flier was detained for 10 days in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang after he opened an emergency door to beat the queue leaving the plane.

The man, surnamed Song, had travelled with his family on a Shandong Airlines flight from Jinan in northern China to Putuo, southeast of Shanghai, on April 21.

According to Chinese news portal The Paper, he became impatient while waiting to disembark from the aircraft and decided to open the emergency exit next to his seat.

“I pulled this handle and opened it,” Song, 65, said in the video report, which included footage of the incident.

He turned back when he saw there was no ladder to get down from the hatch and was soon surrounded by flight staff and airport security.