Disappointed travelers in China at the Xinzheng International Airport were found smashing computers and chairs as an apparent riot broke out on Thursday night. Almost 2000 passengers were stranded due to
heavy snowfall causing airline delays and flight cancellations.
According to a local agency report, a passenger gained access to the airport’s control room where she was spotted with an unidentified beverage beating up as staff. Photographs posted on Chinese social media showed the aftermath of the disturbance, which came during the annual travel rush at the end of Chinese New Year festivities. The images showed passengers clambering over check-in counters, debris scattered over the airport’s main concourse and police apparently trying to calm the crowds.
The violence in the airport broke out on the last day of the Chinese New Year as 10 million travelers attempted to return home after visiting relatives during the Lunar New Year celebrations. One exasperated airport employee took to the Twitter-like micro-blog Weibo to voice her outrage at what state media labeled a “riot”.
China’s commercial airline industry has been growing at breakneck pace since the turn of the century and the country is expected to have at least 230 airports by the end of next year. Yet the industry has struggled to keep up with demand, leading to frequent delays and increasingly violent episodes of “air rage”.
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