Spring Airlines, a China-based private carrier, has blacklisted passengers that have refused to get off planes during previous disputes and refused to accept their orders, Wang Zhenghua, chairman of Spring Airlines, said on the company's Website.

Only "leading troublemakers" will be blacklisted rather than all the seat occupiers, according to Zhang Lei, spokesman of Spring Airlines. He added that passengers can contact the Civil Aviation Department if they want to complain.

Blacklisted passengers can also be taken off the list by signing guarantees with the company promising not to make trouble in the future.

More than 10 passengers refused to get off a Spring Airlines plane after landing on July 17, asking for compensations for a flight delay from Shanghai to Dalian. The passengers stayed on the plane for more than 14 hours, causing 12 flight delays. The incident caused the carrier to lose about 100,000 yuan (US$13,538).

Spring Airlines has only eight A320 Airbus jets and has charged low prices to gain market share. The airline was established in 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2007)