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Sriwijaya Air flight bound for Jakarta from Bengkulu was reportedly delayed for an hour on Monday after passengers objected to a pungent aroma of durian in the passenger cabin.

Antara reporter Boyke Ledy Watra, who happened to be on the plane, reported that several passengers argued, occasionally almost coming to blows, with flight crew members before deciding to leave the aircraft.

Sriwijaya Air eventually decided to unload sacks of durian from the baggage compartment and the flight eventually departed at around 11:40 a.m., an hour later than the scheduled takeoff.

Commenting on the incident, which has made the rounds on social media, Wisnu Budi Setianto, the legal and human resources division head of PT Angkasa Pura II, the operator of Kualanamu International Airport in North Sumatra, said it was misleading to say that durians could cause plane accidents.

Wisnu also said it was common to see people carry durians in flights across Sumatra, which is known for its durian plantations.

At Kualanamu, he said, passengers could be found carrying durians almost every day and most airlines allowed it, except for Air Asia.

“Only Air Asia forbids passengers from carrying durians, while other [airlines] still allow it,” Wisnu told The Jakarta Post.

He cited a similar incident in which an airline asked passengers to leave the airplane because they brought durians on board.

“It happened to three passengers of Wings Air who flew from [Ferdinand Lumban Tobing Airport in] Sibolga to Kualanamu,” Wisnu said.

The passengers kept the durians under their seats, causing complaints from other passengers.

“It is all up to the airlines. They are allowed to forbid that,” he said.

Sriwijaya Air senior corporate communications manager Retri Maya released a statement in response to the reports, justifying the airline’s decision to carry durian despite its decision to eventually unload the highly odorous but popular fruit.

“It’s not illegal to carry durian in a flight as long as it is wrapped properly in accordance with flight regulations — carried inside the hold. Many airlines do this,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

She also clarified that the amount of durians carried by the passengers was not 3 tons, as widely reported on social media.

“It should be acknowledged that 3 tons was the total amount of cargo and baggage for the flight,” she said.

Maya said her company did not prohibit passengers from bringing durians on flights, so long as they were properly packaged and put inside the airplane’s cargo.

“According to the company guidelines, Sriwijaya Air will not fly an airplane if the plane is not fit for flying and under conditions that endanger passengers and crew,” she said.