Last Updated on January 24, 2020
Two parents allegedly abandoned their sick children at an airport after their son was prohibited to board the plane because he was running a fever.
The parents were said to have left their children behind at the airport in Nanjing after boarding a plane, leaving workers, passengers, and security in shock.
The ban on allowing the children to board the plane came after fears of spreading the Coronavirus – which is in the process of being contained throughout China as 35 million people experience stringent travel restrictions.
They had been trying to board the flight from Nanjing to Changsha, with flight MF8040 operated by Xiamen Airlines.
The virus has already claimed the lives of 26 people, while hundreds of others have been infected.
Reports of confirmed cases have emerged from several countries.
Following their abandonment, the children were later cleared to fly, taking a domestic flight, according to The Daily Mail.
The images were posted on Chinese social media, Weibo, after a blogger posted the scene where the parents’ children were denied access to the passenger jet.
Local media said that the event happened on Wednesday night in Nanjing Lukou International Airport, which serves the provincial capital of Jiangsu.
Speaking to Yangzi Evening News, a passenger said, “It seems the boy’s body temperature was 38.5 degrees Celsius,” before adding, “the airline company did not allow [the boy] to board the plane, but the children’s parents would not agree.”
Reports say that the chaos ensued for around two hours with the parents trying to board the flight.
Police were forced to intervene and mediate the situation.
Eventually, the children were allowed on the plane, but were given special seating towards the front of the cabin.
Following the uproar, the two-hour flight was delayed by over three hours.
