Actually, MU571 took off one hour before the time on my printed itinerary. Luckily, I had a hunch this might happen, and made it (but lost time to have a late lunch). Since the flight from PVG to HNL is long, the plane can often arrive one hour earlier. So, altogether, we arrived around 7: 10 am, instead of 9:10 am. No complaint from me until we were urged by a stiff voice: "Please return to your seats and sit down..." I was annoyed, since I got a big backpack and two other bags; sitting down was not easy. The voice was stiff, and the Chinese pronunciation was foreign. We had no choice.

A team of people appeared, including border officers in black uniform. They started along Seats A, B, C, and D, and moved to higher seat numbers. In a minute or two, they had what they wanted, a young couple sitting at A and B. The officers took control of their Chinese passports, and the team left with the couple; everyone else was in shock. Then, we were allowed to de-plane.

While waiting for the shuttle, I again saw the team plus two. They boarded the first "shuttle buses" of two chained together, and left. I have lived in HNL for more 10 years, and this was definitely the first time.