Passenger tries to stage a sit-in protest on plane after flight is canceled

A passenger was so outraged over a flight delay that he tried to stage a sit-in on the plane. (iStock)

There are many things travelers want to do after their flight gets cancelled after a long delay. Cry. Scream. Maybe write a strongly worded letter to the airline. One man, in particular, decided to try and start a revolution.

Passengers had boarded a Boeing 737 for a flight from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Bali on October 2, but the initial take-off slot was missed due to technical issues, so the plane arrived late.

By the time passengers were seated, the destination airport in Bali had closed for the evening and the flight had to be rescheduled.

One man on the plane started to stage a “sit-in,” inciting other passengers to “occupy” their plane, according to a translation from The Daily Mail. The man claimed to be a lawyer during his speech.

He said, in Indonesian, “There was another plane going to Medan which has been delayed for seven hours. It has still not departed. The passengers were given £17 and they still haven't left. Do you want money and they still don't fly?”

Airport security and police were called to the scene and took the man off the plane by force.

“If we get off the plane it's not going anywhere tonight,” he said. “Lion Air will not fly us at all. There is a reason they want us to leave. Now we are in charge of this plane.”

Unfortunately, if a plane has technical issues or no destination cleared for landing, it can't take off — no matter what passengers say.

Other passengers eventually got off the plane and were given compensation for the delay and put up for the night. They made the three-hour flight to Bali the next morning.