Woman Detained After Bringing Sugar Glider Possum On East China Flight

Summary

• The violence caused by the escaped animal caused passengers to be removed from the plane.
• The passenger involved is detained for up to 15 days.
• Despite advanced air filtration systems, there are still risks of having animals in airplane cabins.

A woman was detained in Shanghai after boarding a China Eastern flight with her sugar glider, which escaped, causing panic on board and forcing all passengers to evacuate.

Shock on board

China Eastern Flight – MU5599 is a regularly scheduled service between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) and Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport (TNA) that generally takes only about 90 minutes. However, on 10 June, a riot before take-off caused the entire flight to be diverted and delayed by more than an hour.

As reported by the South China Morning Post, a female passenger boarded this flight with a pet sugar glider butterfly, which escaped, sparking panic and a manhunt for the runner possum. Despite being arrested again, the passengers had to leave the plane for security reasons. The passenger in question has been detained by police authorities for disrupting public transport.

This incident may be considered a violation of the law as the China Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) does not allow passengers to carry live animals in the passenger compartment of the aircraft. Any animals that must be transported must do so in the cargo compartment of the aircraft.

Angry passengers and netizens

Online reports suggest that passengers and the general population of the country are not happy with the incidents, with people expressing their views on the situation on social media such as TikTok. From one member of the public wanting a passenger to be banned from flying indefinitely, while a fellow passenger questioned the effectiveness of the airport’s security, the incident has made people express their strong opinions.

Considering the inconvenience caused by the night flight, it is understandable why passengers might not be too happy about the delay. Data from flightradar24.com shows the following:

Simple Flying has contacted the airline to find out more about the incident and how the airline is prepared to handle such situations. Any response received will be updated into an article.

Possible risks

Although most airlines around the world allow passengers to board flights with assistance/service animals, there is also the importance of China’s CAA law prohibiting passengers from bringing animals into the cabin.

Statistics published by the National Library of Medicine show that one in ten people are allergic to pets. Although this may not be dangerous when people encounter animals on the ground in an open environment, the situation can be more difficult and worse when allergic passengers are stuck with animals in a pressurized cabin in space.

Although aircraft air conditioning systems have advanced air filter systems, there is always a small risk due to the difficulty of controlling the air circulation systems.

Reactions such as anaphylaxis or asthma can occur if passengers with animal allergies find themselves sharing a cabin with an animal. This can endanger the lives of passengers due to the limited medical care available on board and the potential time it may take for the aircraft to land safely.

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  China Eastern Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  MU/CES

  Aircraft Type:

  Full Service Provider

  Year established:

  1988

  Union:

  SkyTeam

  EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

  Liu Shaoyong

  Country:

  China

  Hub:

  Shanghai Pudong International Airport

  Region:

  Asia