A Shanghai-based local couple are suing a Middle Eastern airline for humiliating them after they were forced to get off a plane last fall because the husband felt a bit queasy.

The Pudong New Area People's Court accepted the lawsuit on January 10, but has not set a hearing date as translators will be needed for the case.

The couple, Xu Junjie and his wife Xu Weiwei, are seeking 14,000 yuan (US$1,750) in compensation, including 10,000 yuan for mental anguish, from Emirates.

The couple boarded a flight at Pudong International Airport for an eight-day trip to Egypt and Dubai about 11pm on September 29.

When they were waiting to take off, Xu Junjie began to feel nauseous. When he mentioned he was not feeling well to a friend surnamed Da who was sitting beside him, Da asked a flight attendant for some medication for Xu. The flight attendant reported the problem to the captain, and then asked Xu to get off the plane.

Xu said he wasn't feeling that sick, and said he didn't want to get off the plane. He even promised to write a letter saying he would take all responsibility if anything happened during the flight.

But the air crew insisted he get off the plane, leading to a 30-minute stalemate.

Finally, the chief flight attendant said the couple's luggage had been taken off the plane and said he would call for airport police to force them to get off the plane if they didn't leave by themselves, according to the plaintiffs. The couple gave in and got off the plane.

Xu Junjie said he didn't feel sick after leaving the flight. While they got a refund from their travel agency, they still lost 1,200 yuan in reservation fees.

"Besides, their expectations for a happy holiday were destroyed and they wasted a great deal of time and energy in making preparations," said the couple's lawyer Wang Xifeng. "More importantly, the couple also felt their dignity was hurt as they were threatened with being forced off the plane in front of so many passengers."

Wang said both Chinese law and international conventions don't give the captain the right to force sick passengers to get off a plane unless they have an infectious disease.

The airlines refused to comment on the case on January 11, saying it was improper to say anything before the court made a verdict. It stressed the airlines refused to accept the passengers out of consideration for their safety.

Some foreign airlines said they don't have similar rules.

"As long as the passengers don't have diseases that could harm the health of other passengers, we won't force them to get off," said Sun Li of Singapore Airlines.