Persistent superstition has caused a major delay in a China Southern Airlines plane. A passenger on the southern Chinese resort island of Hainan had thrown a coin into the turbine of an aircraft engine before departure on Wednesday, out of superstition that this would bring good luck and ensure a safe flight. The toss of the coin caused a delay of almost four hours, as the engine had to be examined. The passenger was taken away by the airport police. The aircraft was supposed to fly to Beijing. It’s not the first time Chinese passengers have thrown coins into planes’ engines. According to local media, they probably see the bike as a kind of wishing well where they wish for a safe journey. In early 2019, a man was held in disciplinary detention for ten days when a domestic flight had to be cancelled after he threw a coin into a motorbike. Later, according to the German dpa, he was sentenced to pay 15,200 euros to the airline concerned. As a weapon against the superstition, some Chinese airlines show videos on flights about the misconduct of travelers in previous years and the penalties imposed for it. China Southern Airlines published a video on the online platform Weibo after the incident on Hainan. In it, the airline pointed out the dangers of ‘uncivilised behaviour’, such as throwing coins into engines and the cancellations that can result from this. (Photo Shutterstock).
