Daughter of Korean Air chief resigns after kicking out stewardess over bag of nuts
The crime? Allowing her and other passengers in the pointy end of the aircraft to be served bagged macadamia nuts instead of nuts on a plate.
Heather Cho, 40, was in a first-class seat on a flight bound from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport for Incheon, near Seoul, on Friday.
Cho, a vice president at the airline, summoned the cabin crew chief to ask whether the flight attendant was following the in-flight service manual, said the industry official, who was briefed on the matter but declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
When the crew chief could not answer the question promptly, Cho ordered the crew chief to disembark, prompting the pilot to return the plane to the gate, the industry official said, confirming media reports.
Korean Air confirmed yesterday that the executive involved in the matter was Cho. It said Flight 86 departed 20 minutes late and arrived at Incheon 11 minutes behind schedule and the decision to expel the crew chief had been made in consultation with the pilot.
Heather Cho is the oldest daughter of Korean Air Chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho's three children, all of whom are executives at the airline.
Cho could face legal action if the probe shows that she interrupted the flight or endangered safety by using threats, her status or violence.
The airline had apologised for inconveniencing passengers. But it also said it was “natural” for Cho to fault crew’s ignorance of procedures. The airline’s cabin crew is required to ask first-class passengers whether they want nuts, partly to avoid serving them to people with allergies. The nuts also should have been served on a plate.
The incident caused an uproar in South Korea where it was seen as an example of over-mighty behavior by the offspring of the moneyed elite.
The South Korean economy is dominated by family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebol. Family members often wield greater influence over major companies than shareholders and executives with no blood ties to the founding family.
The Cho family owns about 10 per cent of Korean Air Lines, part of a business empire than spans the travel, logistics, hotel and leisure industries.
Cho was not available for comment.
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic group, said it would file a complaint against Cho with prosecutors.
“The anger and the concern from the public were so big because safety and procedures related to important services were simply ignored” due to Cho’s status, the group said.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Actions of Korean Air Lines official investigated
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