An airline passenger has been fined thousands of pounds after he opened the emergency exit on a plane.

A man was detained at the airport

A man was detained at the airport

The man - known only by the surname Chen - felt the cabin was ''too stuffy and hot'' when he decided to take matters into his own hands.

According to the South China Morning Post, the 25-year-old man was detained by authorities for 15 days after the incident, which took place at Nanjiao Airport, in Mianyang City, southwest China.

The report added that the Lucky Air flight - which took off from Sanya on Hainan Island - had landed when he opened the door.

Authorities told the newspaper had ''waited in the aisle for 10 minutes as passengers left the plane''.

He then lifted the latch on the emergency exit in an attempt to get some fresh air, which caused the door to fall off as well as activating the evacuation slide.

It's said he told investigators: ''I just pushed down on the window handle beside me. When the door fell out, I panicked.''