A Chinese plane bound for Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, was turned around on the runway when an elderly couple aboard found out they had suffered a sudden bereavement.

The passengers asked to be let off so they could make alternative travel arrangements while the Hainan Airlines plane was taxiing in Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, east China's Zhejiang Province last Sunday. The air stewardess contacted the captain and reconciled with other passengers before the plane announced an in-flight message and then headed back to the departure gate, where the bereaved left to make other travel plans.

The flight continued after 50-minute delay and arrived at the destination only 15 minutes later than scheduled.

"The plane was already taxiing and the cabin crew were all prepared. But right before the moment to take off, someone suddenly said their relative had passed away and asked to get off the plane," one passenger wrote on social media 11 minutes before the scheduled take-off. "We are now taxiing back to the departure gate. I can only say that the deceased are prioritized," he wrote.

Some passengers were unhappy with the decision. Stewardesses brought beverage and snacks to pass the time as the plane headed back to the departure gate, an unnamed passenger told Qianjiang Evening News, a local newspaper in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

The incident triggered plenty of internet buzz once posted on Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent. Some expressed understanding and appraised the behavior of the cabin crew, positively remarking on their kindness.

User @Wodetoukazhule spoke highly of the cabin crew at the time, commenting that the "only 15-minute delay demonstrates their professionalism" and they "not only secured safety but also demonstrated humanistic care".

However, not all social media users were so sympathetic.

"Not bringing troubles to other people is a virtue. And rules are something that everyone should play by," wrote one Weibo user. Some users considered the request from the bereaved couple, as well as the cabin crew's decision, a moral blackmailing of the other people aboard. There have also been plenty of concerns that more passengers would follow suit with issues that are less important.

Some questioned how could the couple receive a message when the plane was taxiing right before take-off.

Afterwards, CCTV News also set up a poll on Weibo about the issue. Approximately 41 percent interviewed consider the delay unreasonable, about five percent higher than the group who think it rational.

On Monday afternoon, Hainan Airlines confirmed the incident, saying the couple's agitation posed risks and so the cabin crew considered it inappropriate to continue the flight, hence the decision to turn around on the runway.

This is not the first time this has happened in China, however. 

According to a local newspaper in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, on September 15, 2013, a woman on a business trip to Hangzhou was suddenly informed that her daughter died. The bereaved arrived at the airport only to find the gate closed. Somehow, related departments in the airport let the woman get on board, after coordination to call back the flight, which was already on the runway five kilometers away from the departure gate.

(Cover image: profile photo of Hainan Airlines on VCG.com)