A fare-dodging child delayed a flight at the Beijing Capital International Airport for about five hours on Sunday.
The child managed to go through the security checks and boarded flight HO1252 from Beijing to Shanghai on Sunday. Later, all the passengers on board had to disembark for another round of security check after a crew member found that the child had no ticket, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The report said that the child was with three adults and another child, all of whom had bought tickets.
A passenger of the flight told the Beijing Youth Daily that a man, who looked like the child's relative, said he thought children under the height of 120 centimeters did not need to buy a ticket.
However, whether a child requires a ticket and at what discount is determined by age, instead of height, said the report, citing airlines.
The flight was supposed to take off from Beijing at 6:55 a.m. on Sunday, an employee surnamed Zhang from Juneyao Air, the carrier of HO1252, told the Global Times on Monday. The flight was finally able to take off at 11:59 a.m. on Sunday.
In late June, a flight from Shanghai to Guangzhou was delayed for more than five hours when an elderly woman threw a handful of coins into the plane's engine for good luck. Despite her disruptive behavior, the old lady was exempted from punishment because she is already 80 years old, according to the Xinmin Evening News.
