Flight delays ... a China Eastern passenger opened an emergency exit, triggering the inflatable slide. Picture: YouTube/China View Source: Supplied

The China Eastern Airlines plane was taxiing at Sanya Fenghaung International Airport in Hainan, China, when the man opened the door, The Straits Times reports.

The flight attendant tried to stop him, but it was too late — the emergency slide was activated.

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Bizarre ... the plane had almost finished taxiing when the man opened one of the doors, automatically deploying the emergency slide. Picture: YouTube/China View Source: Supplied

According to Chinese media, the unidentified passenger told officials he was “eager to get out of the plane once it landed” earlier this month.

He said he didn’t pay attention to the emergency landing instructions and didn’t think about the consequences of opening the door.

His hasty actions delayed the aircraft’s return flight by two hours and cost the airline about 100,000 yuan ($19,710).

The return flight was delayed for almost two hours as the emergency slide had to be put away. Picture: YouTube/China View Source: Supplied

Patrick Smith, author of Cockpit Confidential, explained to the UK Telegraph what happens when an emergency slide is activated.

“While the plane is taxiing, you will get the door to open. You will also be able to activate the door’s emergency escape slide,” he said.

“As an aircraft approaches the gate, you will sometimes hear the cabin crew calling out ‘doors to manual’. This has to do with overriding the automatic deployment function of the slides. Those slides can unfurl with enough force to kill a person, and you don’t want them billowing onto the jet bridge or into a catering truck.”