Cathay flight attendants suspended after discrimination against non-English speaking passengers

Local air carrier Cathay Pacific suspended the flight attendants and issued an apology after a Mainland passenger accused airline staff of discriminating against non-English speakers on a flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong.

A Chinese netizen filed the complaint stating that the incident occurred on flight CX987 from Chengdu to Hong Kong on May 21.

According to the passenger, he was seated in the back row near where flight attendants prepared meals and took breaks and heard flight attendants reportedly complaining about passengers in English and Cantonese, stating that if they could not pronounce the word blanket, they did not deserve to get them, among many other derogatory remarks.

The affected passenger shared a 31-second recorded audio in which the flight attendant can be heard making fun of others for asking for a carpet instead of a blanket in English, "If you cannot say blanket, you cannot have it," and "carpet is on the floor."

The passenger also heard the flight attendants discriminate against passengers who cannot understand Cantonese. “They cannot understand the human language,” the netizen cited one flight attendant saying.

Even passengers requesting assistance filling out the Arrival Cards were met with cold responses.

Cathay Pacific said the flight attendants were suspended and expressed their deepest apology, with the result of the investigation to be announced in three days.

"We have suspended the flight attendants concerned and launched an internal investigation," the airline said, adding that any "inappropriate words and deeds" that violated its rules and professional ethics would be dealt with seriously once confirmed.

China's state-owned People's Daily said in an online commentary that it was shocked by the incident against Mandarin-speaking passengers and criticised Cathay's corporate culture for "worshipping foreigners and respecting Hong Kong people", but looking down on Mainlanders.

"Cathay Pacific can't just apologise every time, but should rectify heavily, establish rules and regulations, and stop the unhealthy trend from the root," it said.

The newspaper went on to say that the level of Mandarin in Hong Kong is improving by "leaps and bounds".

"In Hong Kong the reverse trend of worshipping English and looking down on Mandarin is bound to disappear."

In response to the media enquiries, the Equal Opportunities Commission said it is unlawful under the Race Discrimination Ordinance to discriminate against, harass or vilify a person on the ground of “race”, which may refer to the race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin of the person.

It added that although language is not included in the ordinance’s definition of race, language-related requirements may result in indirect discrimination against a particular ethnic group if members of this group are unable to meet those requirements or conditions and suffer detrimental treatment as a result.