Cathay Pacific Fires Flight Attendants Over Alleged Discrimination

Three Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants have been fired following alleged discrimination against passengers from mainland China. The incident took place on flight CX987 from Chengdu (TFU) to Hong Kong (HKG) on May 21st.

In addition to the swift action taken, Cathay Pacific’s CEO, Ronald Lam, offered his “sincere apologies,” and confirmed that he would lead a cross-departmental review of services and training to ensure that improvements are made.

Photo: Markus Mainka I Shutterstock

Lam went on to reiterate the airline’s zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, saying,

“For individual employees who seriously violate company rules and moral standards, Cathay Pacific will uphold a zero-tolerance approach and will not show mercy. Most importantly, we must ensure that all Cathay Pacific staff respect passengers from different backgrounds and cultures and provide professional and consistent service in all areas served.”

What happened onboard?

The Flight Attendants in question allegedly complained among themselves about passengers in English and Cantonese, and went on to make fun of a passenger asking for a carpet instead of a blanket in English, responding,

“If you cannot say blanket in English, you cannot have it… Carpet is on the floor. Feel free if you want to lie on it.”

The incident led to the oneworld member airline facing significant backlash on social media in China and beyond. Even the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, became involved, adding,

“The words and deeds of the flight attendants hurt the feelings of compatriots in Hong Kong and the mainland and destroyed Hong Kong’s traditional culture and values of respect and courtesy.”

The incident will come as a blow to Cathay Pacific, just as the airline was beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel following its financial woes as a result of strict pandemic-related travel restrictions. The carrier saw an increase in its April passenger numbers of more than 3,000% compared to last year, with a positive outlook for the rest of 2023.

Flight CX987 from Chengdu to Hong Kong

Flight CX987 is a daily flight from Chengdu’s Tianfu International Airport (TFU) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). The flight previously originated from Chengdu’s other major airport, Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), until Tianfu opened in 2021.

The flight is operated by the Airbus A330-300. According to data from ch-aviation.com, Cathay Pacific currently has 51 of the type in its fleet, more than any other aircraft, with each aircraft seating between 251 and 317 passengers, depending on the configuration.

Sunday’s flight, when the incident took place, was operated by aircraft B-LAM, which joined the airline in July 2011, making it almost 12 years old. This particular aircraft carries 223 passengers in economy class and 39 in business class.