(Photo/CGTN)

A flight scheduled to make its way to Shanghai from Beijing Capital International Airport was delayed for hours on Sunday after a child was found to have boarded without a ticket.

Crew of Shanghai Juneyao flight HO1252 discovered the fare-dodger when they rechecked the passenger numbers ahead of take off. The kid was told to sneak inside by grown-up passengers who distracted security staff, a Beijing Youth Daily report quoted the airport as alleging.

The disruption prompted a thorough examination of the cabin. All passengers onboard were ordered to disembark and go through the security clearance processes again. The plane eventually took off five hours late.

Neither the airport nor airline have said anything about passenger compensation over the incident. But an angry traveler has taken to WeChat, a messaging platform with publishing features, to complain about the fare-dodger's bad behavior and the performance of airport staff.

Many netizens criticized the airport for its loose checks that could severely jeopardize the safety of flights, after new of the incident went viral on China’s popular micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo.

“Fare-dodging is no big deal, but safety is a serious issue. If the family are terrorists and the kid sneaks in with a bomb, then it would be a catastrophe for all the crew and passengers on board,” commented a user named @laowudexianyumeng.

“The parents are to blame, but that aside, the security personnel should also take responsibility, as they should have noticed an extra one going through,” said a user named @LEOxiansenCH.

Flight safety incidents involving unruly passengers, including opening emergency doors and assaulting cabin crew, have made regular headlines in recent years. Last month, a flight from Shanghai to Guangzhou was delayed after an elderly woman passenger threw coins into the aircraft’s engine for good luck. The government has responded by blacklisting misbehaving voyagers, with offenders banned from travel.