Airline says rejected passenger's account not true

China Eastern Airlines has dismissed a passenger's account of being ordered off a flight because her nose was bandaged.

According to Zhejiang provincial news portal www.zjol.com.cn  the 19-year-old, surnamed Xiang, was forced off a flight from Beijing to Ningbo on August 4 because it was wrongly suspected she had recently had plastic surgery. 

The airline's rules state that people who have had plastic surgery can only take flights 15 days after the operation and by showing valid medical records when checking in as “wounds may open, bleed and infect due to pressure changes.”

However, according to the online report, Xiang said: “I was freaked out when she rushed to me and asked when I received nose reshaping. I told her I could remove the bandage, but she insisted on my showing evidence to prove my nose is fine.”

As she didn’t have any proof, she got off the plane, and took an Air China flight instead.

Xiang told the website she had injured her nose about a month ago when horse riding and the bandage was to stop the wound becoming infected.

The airline issued a statement saying:  "The report wasn’t true. Our crew member found a passenger’s nose was wrapped with gauze and was told that she just received a nose job some days ago and she couldn’t show any medical records. Wound healing may become an issue at high altitudes. For her safety, we asked her to get off."

Xiang didn’t respond to the statement.