Kinmen Airport: two cases in 5 days of passengers opening aircraft emergency doors

Two flights experienced delays at Kinmen Airport in the last week, due to passengers opening the emergency doors, one before take-off, and one after landing.

On October 31, a flight about to depart for Taichung International Airport had to abort after a 63-year-old woman named Chen opened the emergency door. Flight attendants had just given the pre-flight safety demonstration, including instructions on opening the emergency exits, when Ms Chen apparently decided to put the instructions to the test. Chen, who was sitting on the left hand side of the row, strolled over to the right hand side and opened the door.

According to United Daily News, Chen mistakenly thought that the aircraft emergency door could simply be opened and closed like the emergency door on a bus.

However, after the door was opened, the flight was aborted and passengers were disembarked, as safety procedures require that the plane must be subjected to a cabin pressure test after the emergency door is re-closed.

Passengers were delayed for more than one hour due to the incident.

The second incident occurred on November 4, after a flight from Kaohsiung had just landed at the Kinmen Airport. A 56-year-old woman named Lin thought the emergency door was a convenient exit and opened it.

Both woman were arrested by Aviation Police for violating Article 119-2 of the Civil Aviation Law, and face fines of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000 for opening the doors without authorization.

Both incidents occurred on Uni Air operated 70-seat ATR 72-600 aircraft.

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