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Passenger Opens Plane's Emergency Door To Get Some 'Fresh Air'

Updated September 3, 2021

I think we can all agree that air travel isn't exactly a pleasant experience. Maybe you're lucky enough to be up in first class rubbing elbows with the elite folks who can afford such a luxury, in which case it's not that bad of a flight.

But more likely than not, you're probably stuck in economy just like the rest of us, squished into a worn-down seat and listening to the symphony of baby wails, passenger complaints, and music blasting from headphones as you count the hours until the wheels touch down again and you can get the heck off.

While most of us can usually deal with the cramped, uncomfortable, and often smelly experience of flying the friendly skies, one woman decided she'd had enough and took matters into her own hands.

Once those airplane doors close, you're strapped in to deal with the less-than-ideal conditions inside the plane until it lands again.

But, according to Unilad, an unnamed female passenger on an Xiamen Airlines flight was really struggling to cope. In fact, she was feeling positively miserable. And that plane hadn't even left the runway yet.

Apparently, she found the cabin to be "too stuffy" and was looking for some way to fix that.

YouTube | Awesome Gary

There were no windows for her to crack, and she had been repeatedly warned by flight attendants not to touch the lever on the emergency exit door located near her seat.

It's unclear whether the repeated warnings were due to her nearness to the door or her repeated attempts to open it. But I'm going to go ahead and assume it's the latter, since she decided to open the door anyway.

It should go without saying, but a plane's emergency doors are only supposed to be opened during an actual emergency.

Popping one open, even while the plane is still on the runway, is a super reckless move. And understandably, flight crew and airline officials were pretty upset when this woman took it upon herself to get a breeze flowing through the cabin.

The entire flight was delayed by one hour as the woman was detained and a second round of safety inspections were carried out.

YouTube | Awesome Gary

After being removed from the plane, the woman attempted to defend her actions on the grounds that the cabin was "too stuffy" and she needed "a breath of fresh air."

Somehow that airtight logic didn't fly with law enforcement and she was still arrested for her offense.

One of the passengers took a video of the scene inside the aircraft after the woman was taken away.

It shows noticeably confused and annoyed passengers milling around the plane cabin while they wait for their flight to finally leave, albeit one person lighter than before.

According to The South China Morning Post, the woman will likely be fined for opening that door, since doing so is classified as disturbing public order. She could also face an indefinite travel ban, which honestly sounds like the right move, in my opinion. Let's keep the crazy people off the plane, thanks.

h/t: Unilad

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