Lucky Air passengers detained for throwing coins at plane for luck

The plane departed two hours later

Two passengers threw coins into a Lucky Air plane engine for luck (Fred/Wikimedia )

Two passengers have been detained for throwing coins at a plane for good luck.

The two women were boarding a Lucky Air flight from Jinan in China's Shandong province to Chengdu in Sichuan when they threw the coins.

Flight 8L9616 was delayed by two hours while crew checked the aircraft engine for the coins. The flight was supposed to depart at 8pm, but eventually took off after 10pm when the coins were found underneath the boarding steps, according to the South China Morning Post.

“After a check by the captain, we excluded the possibility of the coins entering the engine since the gap between the plane and the boarding gate was narrow and far away from the engine,” the airline said.

Throwing coins at the plane to ensure a safe journey isn’t an unusual ritual in China.

In February, The Independent reported that a passenger was being sued by the same airline, Lucky Air, for throwing coins into the engine for luck.

The domestic flight, from the city of Anqing to Kunming in China, was grounded due to safety concerns. The 162 passengers were flown the next day following a full engine check.

The budget carrier claimed the flight cancellation cost in the region of 140,000 yuan (£16,000), and announced legal action would be taken against the passenger.

In 2017 there were two separate incidents recorded of elderly women engaging in the practice, one of whom was also flying from Anqing with Lucky Air.

The other passenger, flying from Shanghai to Guangzhou with China Southern Airlines, attempted to throw nine coins into the engine to pray for safety.