Air passengers scuffle with police

[Darren Butterworth]

Daily Telegraph July 29, 2008 03:43pm

ANGRY passengers scuffled with police in an airport in southwest China, smashing computers and desks after their flights were delayed and no food or accommodation were offered.

More than 170 passengers were stranded for a night at an airport in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, after three China Southern flights were delayed late yesterday due to bad weather, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Some passengers were told to go to a hotel by themselves but ended up being rejected once they arrived, it said.

All the passengers, aged between two and 60, had to spend the night on an aircraft or in the departure hall without food, the report said.

They gathered at the terminal this morning, demanding an apology from the airline and a time for the rescheduled flights.

But the "improper manner" of China Southern staff eventually angered the passengers, leading some to smash computers and desks with chairs and fight with police in the airport, Xinhua said.

A China Southern official said the company was preparing a statement on the incident.

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