Passenger on China flight shouts at attendant after cart bumps elbow, asks to kick her, leaves her kneeling & crying

A video posted on WeChat has gained widespread attention, showing a flight attendant being scolded by a passenger on her knees. He was unhappy that her food cart had bumped his elbow and demanded an apology, even telling her to kneel down so that he could kick her.

On Sep. 27, a public WeChat account made a post titled “Flight Attendant Kneels”, quickly reaching over 100,000 views.

On a China Eastern Airline flight from Hefei to Dalian, a flight attendant was pushing a food cart, which knocked into the passenger’s elbow.

Despite the lack of external injuries such as bruising or swelling, the passenger claimed that the cart was made of metal and the impact was severe. He then demanded an apology from the flight attendant.

The flight attendant apologised, but the passenger was dissatisfied as the apology was “too late” and started shouting in the cabin. The purser came to calm him down and apologised as well.

The passenger said that the flight attendant should “let me kick you”. The flight attendant was in tears at this point, but seeing as the passenger would not let up, she knelt and told him to kick her.

The passenger only calmed down when a security officer arrived.

A netizen named Zhang, who filmed the viral video, recounted the situation. He said that the food cart was not moving fast, and that the flight attendant had brought ice packs for the passenger who was knocked by the cart so it should not be serious.

Airline response

China Eastern Airline has since issued a statement on its Weibo account on Sep. 30. It said that after verification, the flight attendant had repeatedly reminded passengers to be mindful while she was serving drinks from the cart.

The passenger had been asleep, and thus was bumped by the cart. Although the flight attendant apologised and checked on the passenger, he used vulgar and offensive language. He threatened to kick the flight attendant and demanded the flight attendant follow him to the hospital.

The statement also said that to maintain flight safety and cabin order, the purser and security officer intervened. Medical personnel boarded the aircraft after landing and examined the passenger. They found no external injuries or swelling, and he did not require further treatment. He refused assistance from ground staff to be taken to the hospital and left on his own.

The airline has provided counseling and support for the flight attendant following the incident, who has since returned to work.

The airline expressed their gratitude to passengers and the public for their concern and support for aircraft crews.

The airline is working with the relevant parties to conduct a comprehensive review of the incident.