Cathay Pacific fires three cabin crew members over alleged discrimination

Cathay Pacific Airways has sackedthree flight attendants after receiving a complaint that they were discriminating against non-English speaking passengers.They were fired after an audio tape of the cabin crew reportedly insulting passengers got widely circulated.

The Hong Kong airline started an internal probe and apologised for "widespread concern."

The airline was said to be "looking down on mainland Chinese people" by Chinese official media, reported the BBC.

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A passenger flying from Chengdu to Hong Kong said that the cabin crew made fun of customers who asked for a "carpet" instead of a "blanket."

A flight attendant can be heard chuckling in the audio tape as she informs her colleagues, "If you cannotsay blanket in English, you cannot have it. Carpet is on the floor."

The incident has sparked widespread outrage on Chinese social media, with some users advocating for a boycott of Cathay Pacific.

Hong Kong CEO John Lee also stated that the event "hurt the feelings of compatriots in Hong Kong and the mainland."

Ronald Lam, the airline's CEO, apologised for the event and stated that he will personally lead a team to investigate the company's code of conduct.

Cathay Pacific's bid to bounce back

Cathay Pacific has been attempting to return to making profits as the territory minimises the final lingering pandemic restrictions.

The flagship airline was heavily affectedby rigorous quarantine restrictions and border closures, which resulted in major employment cutbacks in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

As a result, it cannot afford to alienate China, according to Greg Waldron, who follows the aerospace company for the online aviation news site FlightGlobal.

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"Cathay relies heavily on China, which is a key market for the company both for inbound travel to Hong Kong, as well as transit traffic to Cathay's broader network," he told the BBC.

H&M, Nike, Adidas, and Puma have all faced backlash in China due to cultural insensitivity or disputes over politics fueled by social media.

"Anyone who offends the Chinese people should prepare to pay the price," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in 2021.

The relationship between Hong Kong and China has been strained since 2019 when major demonstrations erupted in response to Beijing's proposal to enable suspects from Hong Kong to be extradited to China for trial.

In reaction to the protests, China enacted a controversial national security law that criminalised dissent.

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Beijing saysthe measure was necessary to provide stability to the city. Critics said it was intended to crush dissent and erode Hong Kong's autonomy.

Since the law's implementation, more than 250 people have been detained, with up to 30 of them convicted.

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