Cathay Pacific sacks crew members accused of discriminating against non-English speakers
HONG KONG –
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has dismissed three cabin crew members after a passenger accused them of discriminating in opposition to non-English audio system, in a case that drew criticism from Chinese state media.
Airline CEO Ronald Lam expressed his apologies Tuesday to the passenger and the neighborhood over the incident, which occurred on a flight from Chengdu in southwest China to Hong Kong on Sunday. He reiterated his firm’s “zero tolerance” of any severe breach of its insurance policies and code of conduct.
“There is no compromise for such violations,” he stated in an announcement.
The sacking got here after the passenger complained in an internet publish that some crew members have been disrespectful to passengers who didn’t converse English or Cantonese, the language broadly spoken in Hong Kong. The individual, who sat close to the crew’s resting space, overheard them complaining about prospects.
“During the whole flight, not a moment went by when I was not distressed or angry,” the passenger wrote.
In specific, the crew members made enjoyable of different passengers who combined up the phrases “blanket” and “carpet” in English and gave the impression to be impatient even when somebody tried to hunt assist in English, the publish alleged.
“If you cannot say blanket in English, you cannot have it,” an individual stated in an audio clip posted on social media. The remark was adopted by laughter. “Carpet is on the floor,” the recording continued. The Associated Press couldn’t independently confirm the audio clip.
Cathay issued an apology on Monday on the Chinese social media platform Weibo for “the unpleasant experience” suffered by passengers on the flight, however did not pacify the anger triggered by the passenger’s publish.
On Tuesday, a Weibo account belonging to the abroad version of the official Chinese People’s Daily newspaper sternly criticized Cathay over the incident.
“It seems that its company culture still maintains a sense of superiority that worships foreigners and respects Hong Kongers but looks down on mainlanders,” it wrote.
It stated the airline ought to rectify itself and set up guidelines to halt the unhealthy development.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee stated he was disillusioned to study concerning the disrespectful acts that had broken the connection between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese residents. He stated he had informed Lam that it was a severe incident and should not repeat once more.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung stated Wednesday he had expressed his deep concern to Cathay and requested the administration to enhance the corporate’s companies instantly. He added he was very distressed by the “inappropriate comments” made by the crew members, calling the incident as a “serious breach of Hong Kong’s reputation for service excellence.”
Cathay is working to rebuild its business after years of strict pandemic journey restrictions pressured the airline into steep losses.
