Airport staff in China rips up passenger’s boarding pass after dispute over transfer inquiry

Airport staff tears up passenger’s boarding pass following dispute over transfer inquiry

On 8 Feb, a check-in agent at Lijiang Sanyi International Airport in Yunnan, China tore up a passenger’s boarding pass after a disagreement over a transfer inquiry, sparking public backlash.

Source: Douyin

The incident was captured in a viral five-minute Douyin video, garnering nearly 400,000 likes and more than 120,000 shares.

According to Chinese news outlet The Paper, the passenger, Mr Sun, arrived at Lijiang Sanyi Airport from another city and was preparing to transfer.

In the baggage hall, he noticed a sign reading “Connecting Flights” and assumed the counter beneath it was for transfer check-in.

Source: Douyin

However, when he inquired, the staff informed him that it was not a transfer counter and that they did not know where it was, advising him to go to the second floor or check with the information desk.

Agent cancels check-in & rips up boarding pass

Mr Sun then proceeded to the first-class check-in counter in the departure hall to ask if there was a dedicated transfer counter.

Source: Douyin

Instead of directly answering, the check-in agent questioned him about his destination, baggage, and other details before processing his check-in.

When Mr Sun continued pressing for an answer and pointed out issues with the airport signage, the agent responded dismissively, telling him to stop asking and saying that they were not responsible for the signs.

Mr Sun later claimed that the agent abruptly cancelled his check-in, tore up his boarding pass, and told him to check in at a different airline’s counter instead.

Airport addresses staff’s poor service

On Feb 9 evening, Lijiang Sanyi International Airport issued a statement acknowledging poor service from its staff.

Source: Lijiang Sanyi International Airport on Weibo

The statement confirmed that during check-in, counter staff failed to provide effective responses to the passenger’s inquiries, displayed a poor service attitude, and even tore up the passenger’s boarding pass.

An order maintenance staff member intervened upon noticing the situation and promptly guided the passenger to the first-class counter, where the duty manager apologised.

The passenger was then able to board his flight smoothly.

“We sincerely apologise for the inappropriate actions of the involved staff member. Moving forward, we will strictly handle the employee in accordance with regulations, deeply reflect on this incident, immediately inspect and rectify transfer signage, enhance staff training, and strengthen service awareness,” the airport stated.

Also read: China Southern Airlines Staff At Changi Airport Allegedly Calls Passenger A Dog, Company Apologises

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Featured image adapted from @临云行 on Douyin.