Cathay Pacific fires 3 flight attendants over alleged discrimination

Three flight attendants have been fired from Cathay Pacific Airlines after alleged discrimination against mainland passengers sparked outrage on social media and prompted an investigation by the airline.

In a late night statement, Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam expressed his "sincere apologies" to the affected passenger and the wider public, adding that the airline was taking the matter very seriously.

"For individual employees who seriously violate company rules and moral standards, Cathay Pacific will uphold a zero tolerance approach and will not show mercy," he said.

The alleged incident occurred on flight CX987 from Chengdu in Sichuan Province to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on May 21, according to posts written by a passenger on China's lifestyle social media platform Xiaohongshu (Red).

The netizen shared a recording, in which the flight attendants said in English, "If you cannot speak blanket, you cannot have it," and "carpet is on the floor."

The netizen speculated that the flight attendants were mocking passengers who attempted to communicate in English to request a blanket.

Another passenger seated in front of the netizen also received impatient responses when asking the flight attendants how to fill out an arrival card in English.

The incident has sparked widespread anger online about the treatment of Chinese mainland passengers on Cathay flights.

The airline has since completed its investigation into the incident and has fired the three flight attendants involved.

Lam said in the statement that he will lead a "cross-departmental" working group to review the airline's service processes, personnel training and related systems, with the aim of improving its service quality.

He added that it was of paramount importance to ensure that all Cathay staff members should respect passengers from different backgrounds and cultures, and provide a consistent, professional service in all regions.