Chinese passengers are grounding planes with a ‘lucky’ ritual

A 66-year-old woman was prevented from flying and later detained after she threw coins at a plane’s engine for good luck before take-off.

According to a report in The South China Morning Post, the woman was removed from the Tianjin Airlines flight at Hohhot Baita International Airport in northern China on Monday.

As a result, all 100 passengers were transferred onto a new plane after a two-hour delay. The woman has reportedly been detained by police for 10 days and could face further punishment from airline authorities.

“To eliminate any hidden risks and to ensure flight safety, Tianjin Airlines quickly decided to notify passengers to change aircraft at 8.17am. At 8.40am they had all changed to the new aircraft, and the flight took off from [Hohhot Baita International Airport] at 10.06am,” the airline said in a statement, according to the publication.

This isn’t the first time a passenger has attempted to toss coins into an aircraft engine for good luck. In March, two Chinese women were detained by police on suspicion of tossing coins at a plane they were boarding for good luck. Meanwhile, in February, a flight in China was cancelled after a 28-year-old man did the same thing.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you heard of this before?