Cathay Pacific dismisses crew members accused of discriminating against non-English speakers

(ECNS) -- Cathay Pacific Airways announced the dismissal of three flight attendants and apologized to the public after a passenger accused them of discriminating against non-English speakers, which draw overwhelming criticism from Chinese social media.

Recently, a netizen posted on a social media platform, claiming that there was discrimination against "non-English-speaking passengers" by the cabin crew on Cathay Pacific Airways flight CX987 from Chengdu to Hong Kong. The netizen mentioned overhearing the cabin crew complaining and discriminating against passengers in English and Cantonese, and uploaded an audio recording.

Regarding the incident, Cathay Pacific Airways apologized twice on Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon, and stated that an internal investigation has been launched immediately.

Airline CEO Ronald Lam expressed his apologies on Tuesday evening to the passenger and society. He reiterated his company’s “zero tolerance” of any serious breach of its policies and code of conduct.

Ronald Lam stated that in order to prevent similar incidents, he will personally lead a cross-departmental working group to conduct a comprehensive review, reexamine Cathay Pacific Airways' service processes, personnel training, and related systems, and further enhance the service quality of Cathay Pacific Airways.

He stressed the most important aspect is to ensure that all Cathay Pacific employees must respect passengers from different backgrounds and cultures and provide professional and consistent service in all service areas.