/ 31 July 2006

The curious incident of the bag on the plane

A passenger was escorted off a Tokyo-bound plane in Hong Kong after she refused to put her Gucci handbag under the seat, disrupting the flight for more than an hour, a report said on Monday.

The Cathay Pacific plane was ready to take off but was forced to stop on the runway because the young passenger would not listen to a flight attendant’s request, the Apple Daily reported.

After 15 minutes of argument, police officers, airport security guards and airline officials were called in to resolve the situation, but she still refused to give in, it said.

After an officer threatened to arrest her, the unnamed passenger finally agreed to leave the plane with her Gucci handbag, much to the delight of her angry fellow passengers who clapped as she was escorted off.

“It’s not my fault, it was them who were too stubborn,” she shouted as she was leaving.

The incident, captured on camera by another passenger and published on the internet, resulted in a delay of the flight of more than an hour. — AFP