Ninety-one passengers who had waited five hours in Chongqing for their Beijing-bound flight staged a mutiny of sorts and refused to board the aircraft, suggesting the 100-yuan (US$15.7) compensation they were offered was little more than a slap in the face, the Chongqing Morning Post said Thursday.

Apparently tired of waiting for the compensation conflict to be settled, the pilot took off with just 24 passengers.

"After being stranded for such a long time, it was quite unacceptable that they only agreed to compensate us 100 yuan," a passenger surnamed Mao, who refused to board the plane, told the Global Times. "While we were still negotiating with the airport staff, we saw the plane take off."

The flight, which was scheduled to leave Beijing at 7:55 p.m., is a co-shared flight between China Eastern Airlines and China United Airlines.

An official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times that the captain is entitled to leave passengers behind after the final boarding call has been announced.

Mao confirmed that there was a final boarding call.

"After informing passengers of the pending take-off, the captain has the right to fly if they still refuse to board," the official said, hinting that the mutinous passengers were trying to pressure the airline into giving more compensation.

The compensation was actually offered by Beijing's Nanyuan Airport, where the aircraft was delayed before arriving in Chongqing. The airport reportedly provided the 100 yuan to offset passenger's ground transportation. The passengers who took the flight got the cash, while those who refused were given overnight accommodation but not money.

Many Sina Weibo users supported the pilot's decision to leave without the passengers. "It was the passengers who refused to board. Since 24 had boarded, the captain should leave for their sake," said a user.

Zhao Xinke, a lawyer from the Beijing-based Hao Dong Law Firm, told the Global Times Thursday that the airlines should prove there were factors beyond their control that caused the delay, otherwise it must compensate.

"It is the air carrier that did not follow the carrier-passenger contract after all," Zhao added.

China United refused to comment when contacted by the Global Times Thursday, while China Eastern said it was not aware of the incident.

There have been a number of incidents of passengers enduring long delays in recent weeks. About 30 passengers on a Western Airlines flight in Yunnan Province blocked the runway after a four-hour wait on August 6. They were given 500-yuan each in compensation. Some 53 passengers, whose flight was delayed for three hours in Guangdong Province on Sunday, were dumped by Xiamen Airlines after they refused to board. None of them were compensated.