Passenger allegedly coughs on Thai Airways flight attendant to get off plane in Shanghai

Stranded onboard a plane for hours, an irate passenger tried to force Thai Airways' crew to let her alight.

In a video clip posted on YouTube last Friday (March 6), the young woman was seen getting up from her seat before a male flight attendant held her in a headlock and pressed her back down.

Several other male cabin crew were also seen putting on surgical masks and gloves as they gathered around the passenger. "Stay down, please, stay down," one of them was heard saying.

Getting restrained, however, further agitated the passenger, who screamed "What did I do wrong?" in Mandarin.

She had coughed at one of the flight attendants before the scuffle broke out, alleged Fugu M, the YouTube user who uploaded the footage.

An airline spokesperson confirmed with Thai media that the incident happened on March 6 on flight TG664 from Bangkok to Shanghai.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q01C9IVrQ3k[/embed]

According to Thai Airways' contract of carriage, if a passenger behaves in a manner which causes discomfort, inconvenience, damage or injury to other passengers or the crew, its staff may take measures it deems reasonably necessary to prevent the continuation of such conduct, including restraint. 

With the recent Covid-19 outbreak, airports from around the world have strengthened screening measures.

The tightened checks created a backlog, and flight TG664 had to remain on the tarmac for seven hours after landing at Pudong International Airport.

"We could not open the doors of the plane until instructed to and health officials came to proceed with checks," said Thai Airway's aviation safety department vice president.

Last week, Shanghai authorities announced that they are checking all passengers with travel history to seriously affected countries such as Japan, South Korea, Italy and Iran, for the virus.

Passengers flying into the city from these countries are also required to be quarantined for 14 days, Reuters reported.

Those who conceal Covid-19 infections would be severely punished, the Shanghai government warned.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus virus, visit here.

lamminlee@asiaone.com