QINGDAO: Carrying 148 passengers, Shandong Airlines flight SC4816 smoothly landed at east China’s Qingdao Jiaodong Airport on Monday evening. Departing from a rainy city, the flight, despite being delayed by 14 minutes, arrived 7 minutes ahead of schedule, days before the Spring Festival that marked the arrival of the Year of Snake.
At the cabin door, chief flight attendant Zhao Yue greeted passengers with a smile, bidding them farewell and exchanging New Year greetings, while inside the cabin, four pieces of festive Chinese character “Fu,” meaning good fortune, and a snake-shaped papercut adorned the walls.
Zhao said that on New Year’s Eve, the cabin will be further decorated with more traditional Chinese New Year elements, and dumplings, a symbol of family reunion, will be served during meal times.
For the Spring Festival, certain flights will also host special activities such as writing Spring Festival couplets.
The 2025 Spring Festival travel rush, or chunyun, began on Jan. 14 and will continue through Feb. 22. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the number of air passengers is expected to exceed 90 million, potentially setting a new record. Shandong Airlines has also entered a very busy travel season.
“Our flight hours and schedules have increased significantly. In December, I flew about 60 hours, but this month I expect to touch 80,” said flight attendant Yuan Zixuan, adding that during the Spring Festival travel rush, there are more passengers with special needs, to whom she and her colleagues will offer extra care and attention.
Qu Junke, a check-in supervisor at Shandong Airlines’ Qingdao branch, noted that the airline places great importance on the needs of senior citizens, unaccompanied children, passengers with disabilities, and first-time flyers during the travel rush. From check-in to the cabin and post-flight transportation, dedicated staff are assigned to ensure these passengers enjoy a smooth and reassuring journey.
During the Spring Festival travel rush, crew members witness countless emotional homecoming moments that leave lasting impressions.
Flight attendant Fang Luyi shared several heartwarming experiences, including a young man sitting by the window, nervously straightening his clothes and checking the ring box in his pocket, preparing to propose upon landing; a young woman carefully applying makeup under the dim cabin lights on a night flight, wanting to look her best for her parents after being away studying abroad for two years; and an elderly couple holding a new smartphone gifted by their daughter, asking for help to send a safe arrival message.
“As flight attendants, we’re used to spending holidays on duty. For us, the day we return home is our reunion festival. But for most passengers, the Spring Festival is still a journey across mountains and seas to return to the warmth of their childhood home and the embrace of their parents,” Fang said. –Agencies
