Flight Attendants Fired by Cathay Pacific for Mocking Passengers’ English Language Skills

Cathay Pacific Airways has taken the unusual step of firing three flight attendants who were involved in mocking Chinese passengers’ English language abilities. The incident occurred on a flight from Chengdu, China to Hong Kong when passengers requested a blanket and were allegedly told to lie down on the carpet if they couldn’t ask for one in English.

The flight attendants have denied the accusation of racism, but an audio recording of the incident seems to support the passengers’ claims. The recording captures the crew member mocking the passengers for using the English word ‘carpet’ instead of ‘blanket.’

Cathay Pacific CEO, Ronald Lam, confirmed the terminations in a statement to Insider, stating, “In accordance with the company’s policies, we have terminated three cabin crew members who were involved.” He also expressed his sincerest apologies to the affected customer and the community for the incident.