Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL) has decided to list three Japanese passengers as unpopular travelers who will be barred from traveling with the airline, and in addition will seek compensation from them for disruption they caused on a Dec. 9 Taipei-Bangkok flight.

The passengers on CAL's unwanted list traveled from Fukuoka, Japan last Saturday to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they connected with a CAL flight bound for Bangkok.

The CAL flight departed at around 1:55 p.m. carrying 260 passengers, but was forced to return around 30 minutes later out of safety concerns because the three Japanese passengers, believed to already be drunk during their transit, started making trouble.

According to an aviation police investigation, the three had bought alcohol at the airport duty-free shop and continued to drink on board the plane. Moreover, they were also caught smoking in the lavatory, and later began harassing other passengers.

The incident caused a four-hour delay to the flight and affected the travel plans of the other passengers on board.

CAL President Hsieh Shih-chien (謝世謙) told reporters Friday that apart from the trouble the three passengers had caused, they also caused losses for the company.

Therefore, the passengers were put on CAL's list of unwanted customers who it refuses to carry. Also, the company is certain to seek compensation through judicial channels, Hsieh said.

Currently, the company is calculating its losses based on the costs of flight deployment and the additional fuel that was consumed as a result of the incident, according to CAL.

(By Wang Shu-fen and Elizabeth Hsu)
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