CHINA Eastern Airlines (CEA) announced Saturday that pilots involved in “flight returns” would be penalized if they were found to have acted out of grievance rather than the given reason of “poor weather.”

Last Monday, 18 flights returned to their departure points in southwestern Yunnan Province, affecting more than 1,000 passengers.

Earlier media reports have said that the pilots, who work for CEA subsidiary Yunnan Airlines, were protesting their pay and working conditions. However, the company had insisted that poor weather was involved.

According to Saturday’s announcement, the Shanghai-based headquarters of CEA was told that the weather did not permit landings Monday.

“We are concerned about public suspicion (that weather was not the real cause) and an investigation is under way,” the announcement said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sent a team to investigate Saturday. A CAAC spokesman said the administration was concerned about the incident and required the CAAC’s southwest bureau to deal with it to ensure the continued operation of airlines. By Tuesday afternoon, the airports had resumed operation and there were no stranded passengers.

The spokesman said the agency would ask the authorities to impose severe penalties on the pilots if they had disrupted flights on purpose.

The Yunnan branch of CEA promised to pay compensation to affected passengers.(Xinhua)