Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport was a chaotic frenzy last weekend when delays and cancellations caused by heavy rain were too much for some passengers to handle. Many angry people surrounded airline staff, shouting, pelting them with food, and smashing airline equipment.

More than 100 flights were affected on the evening of May 15, causing about 1,000 passengers to wait at the airport until the early hours of the following day.

Passengers were so upset that when airlines provided them with meals, angry passengers threw take-out boxes, bowls of instant noodles, and water bottles at the departure gate counter.

Riot police were eventual called in, and imposed order by forming a human wall.

A Southern China Airlines passenger named Wang gave a detailed personal account of what happened that night. Wang said many of his fellow passengers were upset when their 7:30pm flight was indefinitely delayed with no word from the airline of a rescheduled flight or a cancellation. Instead, he said passengers were kept in the dark until about 11pm when a group of about 20 to 30 passengers began to encircle the airline counter and angrily argue with staff.

Wang described the mounting chaos:

At that time, everybody was asking for compensation, something that is guaranteed by airline regulations. However, no one from the airline staff would take care of that. Instead, other people started complaining about other things: someone said they were hungry and wanted to eat, while another wanted accommodation. It started to get really crazy.

At 11:30pm, the airline began distributing meals to passengers, but for some people this was already too late. After waiting almost five hours after their scheduled flight, passengers were incensed. This is when some passengers threw their meal boxes into the airline service desk area. One fight broke out and equipment was smashed.

In hindsight, Wang thinks the airline should have done a better job of communicating with passengers:

For example, in terms of compensation, food, and accommodation, the airline didn’t have to wait until everyone was angry (before giving them out). When you wait that long, people are going to lose their temper and act out of control.

Wang’s flight was eventually scheduled for 4am. Southern China Airlines passengers were each compensated a total of RMB 200.

Here are more photographs of the chaos:

Related:

• Brawl Breaks Out at Shenzhen Airport Over Flight Delays
• Irate Passengers Break Into Cockpit Over Smog Delays
• Enough with Flight Delays, Consumer Group Says Airlines Need to Compensate Passengers