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Seat Demand Sparks Mid‑Flight U‑Turn: Passenger Removed After Dispute on Flight to Shanghai

On Dec. 1, Spring Airlines Japan flight IJ005 returned to Narita after a passenger repeatedly demanded to sit next to his girlfriend and continued arguing with crew when denied. The dispute began during boarding and persisted for nearly two hours after the 7 p.m. departure, prompting the pilots to perform a U‑turn and land back at Narita around 11 p.m. Police removed the passenger on landing; a replacement flight departed the next morning and affected travelers received 10,000 yen each.

07:20 AM, 12/03/2025Society
Seat Demand Sparks Mid‑Flight U‑Turn: Passenger Removed After Dispute on Flight to Shanghai

A Spring Airlines Japan flight bound for Shanghai was forced to turn back to Tokyo’s Narita Airport on Dec. 1 after a passenger repeatedly demanded to sit next to his girlfriend and continued arguing with cabin crew when refused. The dispute began at boarding and escalated during the flight, prompting the pilots to perform a U‑turn and return to Narita for an emergency landing.

What happened

The flight, operating as IJ005 from Narita to Shanghai Pudong, departed around 7 p.m. Witnesses say the passenger complained about his seat during boarding and asked to swap with the person seated next to his girlfriend; that passenger declined. Crew members told him he would need to remain in his assigned seat for the roughly three‑hour flight.

Onboard escalation

Passengers report the argument continued after takeoff and lasted for nearly two hours. Facing ongoing disruption, the flight crew and pilots decided the safest course was to return to Narita. The aircraft completed a roughly two‑hour U‑turn and made an emergency landing at about 11 p.m.

"There was no prior announcement or discussion about the situation. We only heard an announcement stating that the flight was turning back due to a person obstructing the crew," a passenger said. "At that point we were only 30 minutes from landing in Shanghai. It was very frustrating."

Police and aftermath

Video recorded on board shows a confrontation between cabin staff and the disruptive passenger, and footage also captures police boarding after the aircraft returned to Narita. Officers removed the man from the aircraft; it was not immediately clear whether he would face criminal charges.

Travelers were stranded overnight until the airline arranged a replacement flight the following morning at 10 a.m. Local reports say the airline compensated each affected passenger 10,000 yen (about $64 USD) for the inconvenience. A company representative did not immediately comment on the incident.

Impact

The incident underscores how individual disruptive behavior can jeopardize safety, create major delays for dozens of passengers and impose operational and financial costs on airlines. Passengers said the delay and unexpected return were particularly frustrating given how close the flight was to its destination when the decision was made.

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