Two men from China, were banned from flying after sitting in first class seats despite not paying for them. The two men were placed on the national blacklist after hitting members
of the flight crew in the face for denying them a free upgrade to first
class.
The incident began when the Hainan Airlines cabin crew on a flight from
Taiyuan to Chongqing, confronted the two passengers who were sitting in
first class seats, despite holding economy class tickets.
Crew members asked them to pay the difference in airfare for the first class seats or move to their assigned seats.
The two men refused both options and instead, they became aggressive towards the flight crew, four crew members and a police officer who was assigned to the flight, were injured. The plane was forced to return to the gate, as a result, the flight was delayed for two hours.
The airline pressed charges against the two violent passengers and they
requested that the two passengers should be placed on the blacklist for
domestic travel.
Once someone gets onto the blacklist, they are prohibited from leaving
China for two years, although it could remain on their record for up to
five years, depending on the severity of the violation.