AirAsia flight delayed for 1.5 hours after passenger scolds air steward for speaking to her in English: ‘How can you not speak Mandarin?’
An AirAsia X flight from Chongqing to Kuala Lumpur (KL) was delayed for about 1.5 hours after an altercation involving a female passenger, who chastised a member of the air crew for not speaking Mandarin.
The altercation occurred on a flight scheduled to depart at 2am on April 22. Clips shared by other passengers show a heated exchange between the woman and airline staff during the red-eye flight.
An Instagram Stories clip uploaded by user @aikren shows a woman wearing a black jacket speaking on the phone. Halfway through the call, she shouts at a female passenger in a red jumper beside her, saying: “I just want to know if the plane is leaving!”
The woman in the red jumper then reprimands her for raising her voice, reminding her that it was late and other passengers may want to rest. A male flight attendant, who was standing slightly behind their seats, steps forward, seemingly to block the pair from each other’s view.
In subsequent clips uploaded by the same user, the disruptive passenger asks the passenger in red: “You think you’re some influencer? Do you have millions of fans? You dare to film me?”
As this was happening, the same flight attendant paces back to the pair and raises his hand, gesturing for them to stop.
Another clip shared by aikren shows the woman in black screaming at an older cabin crew member in Mandarin: “I’m speaking Mandarin, can you?”
The attendant, who appears to be non-Chinese, proceeds to shake his head before saying “cannot” in Mandarin, sending the cabin into laughter. “Why not? You’re an international airline!” the woman shouted in response.
‘What did I do wrong?’
Moments later, on-ground airline staff are called in. A woman in a bright yellow AirAsia safety vest is observed kneeling beside the woman’s seat, listening patiently to her grievances.
A five-minute video shared by Instagram user @9jonathanlim9, who was seated behind the commotion, shows the woman demanding an apology for being filmed. She also expressed confusion at being blamed for the plane’s delayed departure, claiming the passenger who filmed her should be at fault.
“If I get off this plane, who will compensate me? Who will compensate me for my disrupted itinerary? What did I do wrong?” the woman says, her voice getting increasingly louder and agitated.
“If you can’t resolve the problem, no one on this flight can think about departing,” she threatened.
Claiming she is an air stewardess from China Southern Airlines, the woman says AirAsia lacked proper in-flight services as cabin crew members could not speak Mandarin — something she asserted was a basic requirement of an international airline.
When the female employee from AirAsia began to calmly explain why her behaviour was unacceptable, the passenger interrupts and says she was upset as her friends could not board the plane.
Four police officers subsequently arrive, with one stepping in to speak to the passenger directly. The video ends as two officers suggest she leave the plane to settle the dispute and avoid inconveniencing other passengers. The woman then demands the videos filmed by fellow passengers, saying she needs them as evidence.
Cabin crew involved clarifies situation
In an Instagram Stories post, the first male cabin crew in the video, whose name is Syafiq Jisma, stated that the woman became “very loud and visibly angry because her friend was unable to pass through immigration.”
Mr Syafiq said that as he approached the woman and requested her to lower her voice in English, the woman claimed she did not understand the instruction. The woman wearing the red jumper then stepped in to translate, causing the passenger to direct her anger at her, the cabin crew member wrote.
The chief flight attendant then stepped in, warning the woman that she would be removed from the flight if she did not comply with instructions. She challenged this ultimatum, and the aircraft returned to the parking bay after the captain was notified.
“Please respect airline crew instructions and never harass fellow passengers. Safety and order onboard are always a top priority,” Mr Syafiq urged.
Passenger offloaded from plane
In response to Stomp’s queries, Benyamin Ismail, General Manager of AirAsia X, confirmed that the altercation occurred onboard flight D7809, before its departure from Chongqing to KL.
The aircraft returned to the parking bay after the passenger refused to comply with crew instructions. Local authorities were alerted to the situation and proceeded to offload the passenger for “safety reasons”.
The plane departed one hour and 22 minutes after its scheduled departure of 2am, arriving in KL at 8.22am.
“We commend our crew onboard for their professionalism in managing the situation in line with established procedures and also the local authorities for a swift response to ensure the safety of all our guests,” Mr Benyamin praised.
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