Sacked Cathay stewardess admits she was wrong

Sacked Cathay stewardess admits she was wrong

A Thai airline stewardess at the centre of a controversy over a coffee-throwing threat has formally resigned from her job at Cathay Pacific, and urged the public not to hold a grudge against Hong Kong's flag carrier.

The flight attendant posted the message on her Facebook on Monday night, not long after Cathay Pacific made an announcement that she was no longer listed as an employee working for the airline.

"Today [Monday] I resigned as a flight attendant for Cathay Pacific Airline to show responsibility for the problem that has happened and the damaged done to the image of the airline,'' the message said.

Cathay Pacific has not released her name.

The flight attendant put herself in the public spotlight after writing a message on her Facebook page saying  she wanted to throw coffee in the face of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of former premier Thaksin, while she was on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong on Nov 25.

"I immediately told my flight manager I could not work knowing the daughter of my enemy was on the plane,'' the attendant wrote on her Facebook page, according to media reports.

"I called my personal adviser asking if it would be all right to throw coffee at Paetongtarn, but was told that this could breach Hong Kong's laws.''

The cabin attendant was also accused of posting the list of passengers for the Hong Kong-bound flight on the internet.

On her latest message posted on Monday, she said she appreciated the support and understanding of her friends and added that each organisation has its own set of rules that should be respected and followed, similar to laws that keep the public in order.

She confirmed that Cathay Pacific, where she had worked for 24 years, has excellent safety procedures and an international level of service standard.

The airline investigated the case after her posting and on Monday said she was "no longer an employee of the company''.

Sources in the industry said the disclosure of the list of passengers to the public alone was serious enough to warrant dismissal of an employee.

"The manifest is confidential information, well-guarded by airlines, and should never have been given to unauthorised people,'' said a chief executive of a Bangkok-based airline.

Although no coffee was actually thrown, the remarks compounded the seriousness of the case because it reflected an improper attitude, he said.

"Airlines are a service industry and a flight attendant cannot discriminate against passengers because of his or her personal feelings,'' he added.

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