Everybody Wing Chun Inflight

Hong Kong Airlines staff at Wing Chun training.

Cheers as passenger attacks air crew

Incidents of rage on flights between the city and the mainland are on the rise, as witness tells of passenger who punches stewardess

Violent attacks on cabin crew during flights between Hong Kong and the mainland are becoming so common they often go unreported, it has emerged.

The threat posed by unruly passengers and a mob mentality was highlighted on Thursday, after a physical and verbal attack on a flight attendant was loudly cheered and applauded by others on board.

... To deal with such incidents, Hong Kong Airlines cabin crew receive compulsory training in Wing Chun, a martial art.

The airline's corporate communications department said its flight attendants have been given basic Wing Chun training since May 2011 to boost their health and strength, and to give them more confidence to deal with emergencies on planes.

Katherine Cheung, an instructor at the Wing Chun Union in Wan Chai, said recruits undergo six hours of training.

"We teach them basic self-defence movements to deal with unruly passengers.

"It basically gives them a little more confidence to deal with those passengers. I think air crew these days are facing more of these situations." ...