The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) ordered the temporary closure of Taizhou airport following an arson attack onboard a Shenzhen Airlines (ZH, Shenzhen) flight to Guangzhou airport on Sunday.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday, July 26, involved a knife-wielding male passenger who had attempted to set fire to a curtain and newspaper during the flight from Huangyan.

Authorities told the official Xinhua news agency that a subsequent investigation of Huangyan's security protocols had focussed on how the man had managed to bring gasoline and a lighter on-board the flight.

With two officials having been sacked, the airport will only reopen once CAAC is convinced adequate measures are in place to ensure no such event occurs in future.

Huangyan airport serves the eastern coastal town of Taizhou in China's Zhejiang Province. Aside from Shenzhen Airlines, the airfield is also served by Air China (CA, Beijing Capital), Chengdu Airlines (EU, Chengdu Shuangliu), China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao), and Kunming Airlines (KY, Kunming Changshui).