Cathay Pacific flight disrupted after passenger attempts to open emergency exit mid-flight

On Friday, 12 December, Hong Kong police arrested a 20-year-old Cathay Pacific passenger. During a flight from Boston to Hong Kong, the traveller tried to open the emergency exit door.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship airline, operates a daily flight between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). On 11 December 2025, the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft took off from Boston at 12:39 am, nine minutes behind schedule.

Somewhere mid-air, the CX811 flight crew and passengers were, however, met with an unscheduled interruption. A 20-year-old passenger with a Chinese passport, whose identity was not revealed, tried to open the emergency exit door while the plane was flying at a great altitude.

Once the crew members were aware of the situation at hand, they were able to overpower the traveller and escort them back to their seat. No crew members or passengers were harmed during the incident. They then contacted the necessary authorities in Hong Kong, after which the flight was able to continue as scheduled. When the aircraft touched down at Hong Kong International Airport at 4:32 am, 28 minutes earlier than expected, local police were waiting to take the passenger into custody.

“Our cabin crew immediately attended to the situation, inspected the door to ensure it was securely closed, and reported the incident to the relevant authorities and the police. The case has been handed over to the police for investigation. At Cathay, the safety of our customers and crew guides every decision we make”, Cathay Pacific told news agency Reuters in a statement.

Exit doors at high altitudes

Despite this, it is, however, nearly impossible to open an emergency exit door at high altitude. The so-called plug doors need to be pulled inward in order to be opened, which is physically very challenging, if not impossible, when the cabin is pressurised. If, however, the door were to be opened, this could cause depressurisation, pulling all unsecured objects and passengers outside.

Cathay Pacific A350 Makes Emergency Landing in Boston
A Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000 (B-LXM), operating Flight CX811 from Boston (BOS) to Hong Kong (HKG), made an emergency landing back at Boston Logan Airport on January 20, 2025, due to reports of smoke in the cabin.

The… pic.twitter.com/ZHHzRoZqcZ

— Sam Burrill (@moresamburrill) January 21, 2025

It is unclear what exactly will happen to the passenger. According to the Hong Kong Aviation Security Ordinance, attempting to tamper or interfere with any “component, apparatus, equipment, or system” on board an aircraft is a chargeable offence.

It is not the first time a passenger has tried to open a cabin door mid-flight. In May 2023, an Asiana Airlines passenger successfully managed to open an emergency exit when the plane was flying 213 meters above the ground. Following that incident, the airline announced it would no longer sell seats next to the doors on emergency rows. Earlier in 2025, a Jetstar flight from Bali to Australia was forced to return to its departure airport after a passenger attempted to open an emergency door mid-flight.