Hong Kong police were called after a mainland Chinese passenger and a Hong Kong traveller quarrelled over a reclined seat aboard a flight from Sanya to the financial hub on Tuesday.
The incident was captured on video and widely shared on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
The video shows a man arguing with a female passenger after she moved her seat back on the Hong Kong Airlines flight from the southernmost city on Hainan Island. Crew members and other passengers tried to intervene and defuse the situation.
In the video, the mainland woman can be seen standing in the aisle yelling angrily at the man saying: “What’s wrong with you Hong Kong people? You’re also Chinese, aren’t you? Don’t you look down on us Chinese people.”
She added: “Wait till we get off the plane, I’ll call the police on you. Don’t think I won’t!”
The captain called police upon arrival in Hong Kong to deal with the quarrelling passengers.
Hong Kong Airlines confirmed on Wednesday there was a dispute between two passengers on flight 162 from Sanya to Hong Kong on July 30.
The carrier said its crew members tried to diffuse the situation by separating the individuals and the flight landed safely in Hong Kong.
No injuries were reported and the matter was handed over to police upon the involved passengers’ request, the airline said.
A force spokesman said the dispute started when the 45-year-old mainland woman reclined her seat, leading to an argument with the 32-year-old man from Hong Kong.
The two passengers were not arrested, the force added.
