A woman was denied boarding on her flight from Weihai to Nanjing in China. The airline claimed she would be too ’emotionally stable’ to fly due to suffering from depression, according to The Independent.
The passenger, who goes by the name ‘Bi’ was travelling from on October 13 with her boyfriend when Spring Airlines reportedly turned her away. An airline spokesperson told the Global Times,
‘We made the regretful decision based on public safety concerns, as the medical condition of the passenger was not clear, they could not be calmed down emotionally and there was no medical advice on their situation.’
The airline also went on to state that Bi’s hands were ‘shaking furiously when she passed through the airport’s routine security check’. Her boyfriend was frustrated by the situation and allegedly started yelling at airport staff when they questioned her medical background.
He then took to Chinese social media platform Weibo to voice his anger, accusing the airline of ‘discriminating against patients with depression’ as reported by the Independent. He claims the reason Bi’s hands were shaking is because of a side-effect caused by lithium carbonate tablets she takes.
Yu said the couple were on their way to the city of Nanjing so that Bi could attend a hospital appointment with a specialist, but the airline still denied them access onto the plane. They were then forced to take an overnight train to Nanjing in order to make the doctor’s appointment.
The airline has since refunded the tickets in full, but the couple have lodged a complaint with China’s Civil Aviation Administration, according to The Global Times.
Picture: Twitter/@Tobias_Gudat
