SEOUL, South Korea – “Nut rage” in first class?
A recent Korean Air Lines flight was delayed when its chairman’s daughter, who was also vice president responsible for cabin service at the airline, ordered a senior crew member off the plane. 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, CBS News reports.
The executive, Cho Hyun-ah, resigned Tuesday amid a storm of public criticism in South Korea. The airline had earlier excused her behavior even as it apologized for inconveniencing passengers, according to the report.
South Korean media reported this week that the flight from New York City to Incheon, South Korea returned to the gate after Cho told the head of cabin crew to leave the plane. The reports said Cho quarreled with crew in the first class cabin and the flight departed 20 minutes late.
Cho, 40, is the oldest child of Korean Air Lines’ chairman, tycoon Cho Yang-ho. Her two siblings are also executives at South Korea’s largest airline.
The incident caused uproar in South Korea where it was seen as an example of “over-mighty behavior by the offspring of the moneyed elite”.
