300 passengers affected by 2-hour delay after woman refuses to check in overweight luggage

A Scoot flight was delayed for two hours, affecting about 300 passengers, after a woman allegedly refused to check in her overweight carry-on baggage. 

The affected flight, TR166, was scheduled to depart on Sept 10 at 2.45am, for the city of Shenyang, China reports Lianhe Wanbao

An affected passenger said on social media, that the dispute had arisen due to the woman’s luggage being overweight:

“As she was placing her luggage into the overhead compartment, I heard her say to a stewardess, ‘Am I wrong? So what if I’m wrong?’

“The stewardess left without saying anything.”

According to the passenger, the woman looked to be in her twenties and said she was a student.

Her luggage was overweight and the stewardess asked her to check it in.

She complied begrudgingly but argued the stewardess before apologising. 

However, that was not the end of the matter.

The passenger continued:

“We all thought the matter had come to a rest, but after about five minutes, another stewardess came with a man in uniform and ordered her to alight the plane.

“Not long after, an announcement was broadcast over the system, saying that a passenger had breach safety protocols and must exit the flight.

“However, the airline staff needed assistance from the Police, which led to the delay.”

After the Police arrived, they brought the woman and her luggage out, and the plane quickly departed. 

Another passenger pointed out that the woman had argued with a stewardess and the plane’s captain despite the two asking for her cooperation. 

When they asked her what she was carrying in her luggage, she also refused to tell them.

Taking into consideration the safety of other passengers, the captain thus requested that she alight the plane.

In response to media queries, a Scoot spokesman said that airline regulations dictate that each handheld luggage should not exceed 10kg, but the woman reportedly brought four pieces of luggage with her, and one of them even weighed 30kg.