Chinese Airline Passenger Ordered To Pay For Flight Delay

The South China Morning Post reports that the ruling against the passenger was handed down by a court in July, but was just recently made public. Lu Chao was a first-time flyer who tossed a few coins at one of the engines of the airplane he was boarding on February 17. But the flight was cancelled when maintenance workers found two one Yuan coins on the ground near the engine. All of the passengers were taken off the plane while it underwent safety inspections.

Lu admitted tossing the coins, and he was arrested and detained for 10 days on a charge of disturbing public order. Lucky Air filed a civil lawsuit against Lu in May, demanding compensation for losses stemming from the incident. Lu was represented by his brother in court, who argued that Lu had no way to repay the airline, and it was at least partly responsible for not announcing that passengers should not throw coins at planes.

The court showed some consideration for Lu's financial situation. It determined that he should compensate the airline in full, but cut the court costs in half to 459 yuan, or about $63.

The compensation to the airline was set at 123,000 yuan, or about $17,600.