A 200-tonne aircraft carrying passengers crashed right into a jet bridge because it arrived at a terminal.
The China Eastern Airlines Airbus A350-900 was taxiing to its stand when its wings struck a double boarding bridge, destroying the structure and causing damage to the aircraft.
The flight from Chengdu in Sichuan province had just landed at Shanghai Hongqiao airport when it experienced a mechanical failure before arriving on the gate.
No passengers or staff were reported injured throughout the incident on Saturday morning.
One person onboard the flight wrote on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo: ‘Very scared, I can’t get off the plane now.’
Passengers were eventually disembarked via the opposite side of the plane after a 30-minute delay, which is frequently reserved for loading cargo, catering and other goods.
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In keeping with Global Times, all passengers received 400 yuan (around £43) in compensation.
The incident occurred on the second day of the May Labour Day ‘Golden week’ – certainly one of three annual holiday periods in China when travel is extremely popular.
Authorities estimated that around 1.52 billion people can be travelling throughout the five-day holiday, including 11 million flight passengers.
China Eastern Airlines is certainly one of China’s three major carriers, together with Air China and China Southern Airlines.
It carried greater than 140 million passengers on its fleet of 680 aircraft in 2024.
China Eastern Airlines said in a press release: ‘After landing and taxiing slowly towards its gate, a flight from Chengdu to Shanghai experienced a mechanical failure.
‘The crew immediately followed procedures, leading to a minor collision between the aircraft and the jet bridge. All passengers are protected and have disembarked safely. The particular reason for the incident is under investigation.
‘We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to passengers.’
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