A Thai AirAsia (TAA) chartered flight bound for Nanjing, China, was forced to return to Don Mueang airport in Thailand after a Chinese female passenger attacks a flight attendant with scalding water. The video showing what happened on the Thai AirAsia flight has surfaced online.
The incident occurred on Thursday, but with cell phone videos and eyewitness accounts continuing to pour out, Chinese state media reported Chinese authorities issued a statement on Saturday night saying the passengers have been put on a travel blacklist in their home province after they "severely tarnished the image of the Chinese people."
The report said the couple, who were part of a tour group from China, were earlier angry when they discovered that they were not sitting together as seats had been assigned in alphabetical order.
The flight attendant managed to find them adjoining seats but the couple were still complaining loudly, according to eyewitnesses interviewed by Shenzhen Satellite TV described a bizarre sequence of events in which petty complaints quickly escalated into threats of mass murder. The incident truly heated up over a cup of boiling water threw at an attendant's face, witnesses told the station.
The passengers were reportedly ordered to pay 50,000 Thai baht (approximately £970) in compensation to the injured flight attendant. The woman who threw the cup of hot water and noodles was fined an additional 200 Thai baht (approximately £3.80).