(Yicai Global) July 18 -- A child with no ticket managed to successful board a plane at Beijing Capital International Airport on July 16, according to media reports.

As the young traveler didn't intentionally board the flight without buying a ticket, the law wasn't broken, China's Civil Aviation Administration said. The child was traveling with two adults and two other children, and was the only one without a boarding pass.

After crew members on the Beijing to Shanghai flight, operated by Juneyao Airlines Co. [SHA:603885] discovered the four-year-old had no ticket, passengers were made to disembark and re-board the plane. The incident delayed the flight, which was already 3.5 hours behind schedule, by around 1.5 hours.

This was the first time each of the five passengers had taken a plane, and they thought children less than 1.2 meters tall could travel without a ticket, China Daily quoted Li Jicheng, deputy director of the CAA's Aviation Safety Office, as saying today.

In China, children less than 1.2 meters tall are allowed to take the bus or subway and enjoy other public services free of charge. However, airlines require that children under the age of 12 must buy a child's ticket and those less than two years old must have an infant ticket, which does not include a seat on the plane.

Compensation for travelers on that flight is already being processed, Juneyao said through official social media today. However, the incident has raised questions about security checks at the country's busiest airport.