BEIJING • Four Chinese tourists have been blacklisted by the authorities back home for raising a ruckus, including belting out the national anthem, when their flight was delayed by eight hours at a Thai airport earlier this month.

When the plane finally arrived, the tourists refused to board until their compensation demands were met. They stayed put in the departure lounge where they broke into song amid hooting, shouts and general chaos, the Associated Press reported.

A 57-second clip of their heavily criticised actions went viral on the Internet, prompting the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) to put them on its blacklist for "uncivilised behaviour".

The four tourists, from Chongqing and Chengdu in south-west China, behaved badly, inciting other tourists to disobey public order at the Bangkok airport, which severely tarnished the image of Chinese people, said the CNTA.

They will stay on the "bad behaviour record" blacklist for two to three years, it added.

The shame list was first introduced by the CNTA in March amid growing concerns about the bad manners of some Chinese tourists both at home and abroad.

It remains unclear how the blacklist status will affect the offenders, but experts say the rule functions more as a warning.

These tourists will likely face more restrictions when they sign up for group tours or seek lodging in hotels, the Xinhua news agency reported.

In December last year, a Chinese woman threw hot water on a flight attendant onboard a Thai AirAsia flight from Bangkok to the Chinese city of Nanjing.

The row that ensued forced the plane to turn back to Bangkok.