A Beijing-Chengdu flight had to make a U-turn on Wednesday after cabin crew were unable to wake a female passenger in her 50s, according to Beijing News and Beijing Youth Daily.

Flight CA4102 took off from Beijing Capital International Airport at 11:33 am bound for Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.

An alarm was raised when a female passenger failed to respond to a flight attendant's inquiries, and the pilot decided to turn the plane around.

The woman refused to disembark after landing and only left when the crew commander ordered the plane to be cleared.

The flight took off again at 3:35. It is unknown whether the female passenger was aboard.