Cathay Incident Damages HK's Reputation: CE

Chief Executive John Lee has expressed deep disappointment and indignation over claims of discrimination against Cathay Pacific passengers who don't speak English.

Speaking in Guangzhou on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong-Guangdong Cooperation Week, Lee said, "These disrespectful remarks and actions have hurt the feelings of both Hong Kong and mainland compatriots, and damaged Hong Kong's reputation for being respectful, courteous and inclusive.

"These vile remarks and actions happened on a Hong Kong flight. I feel deeply indignant and disappointed.”

Lee described the incident as serious and said the airline needs to take prompt action to rebuild its image that meets the expectations of society.

He also said Cathay should review its training program and improve its service quality to ensure similar situations would not happen again.

Transport Secretary Lam Sai-hung also said he was "very distressed" by the inappropriate comments made by members of the Cathay cabin crew during a flight from Chengdu on Sunday.

"The incident is a serious breach of Hong Kong's reputation for service excellence, long-standing values and ethical standards. I have expressed my deep concern to Cathay Pacific and demanded that the management improve their services immediately," he said in a statement.

Lam said he hoped that "fundamental improvements will be made to the company's mechanisms and staff attitudes, in order to live up to Hong Kong's reputation as an international aviation hub and a welcoming city."

The airline announced on Tuesday night that three flight attendants had been fired over the incident. Cathay's chief executive Ronald Lam said there would be "zero tolerance" towards all forms of misconduct. He also said he would lead a cross-departmental task force to look into the quality of services provided by the carrier.