Gov't to review Korean Air heiress' discipline of flight crew member

The government will review the legitimacy of disciplinary action by the daughter of the Korean Air chairman who forced a flight crew member to deplane, delaying other passengers from departing, an official said Monday.

Cho Hyun-ah, vice president of the national carrier and the eldest daughter of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, ordered a senior flight attendant on a plane heading to Incheon International Airport from New York on Friday to deplane for failing to follow in-flight service procedures, according to the company. Korean Air officials said the attendant had not asked Cho whether she would like a pack of nuts and did not provide the snack on a plate, as required by the service manual.

Cho, also known by her English name, Heather, ordered the attendant off the plane while the flight was already being taxied, forcing the plane to return to the passenger terminal and causing a delay in its departure.

The airline confirmed the flight arrived at Incheon 11 minutes later than scheduled.

In a statement released Monday evening after the news had already spread throughout the country, Korean Air apologized for inconveniencing the passengers, stressing that there was no problem with the safety of the plane.

"We are sorry about the inconvenience of passengers," Korean Air said. The company said it was excessive action to have a flight attendant removed from a plane which was already being taxied by returning it to the boarding bridge, even though it was not an emergency.

Korean Air also claimed it was the plane's captain who ordered the flight attendant to deplane after Cho raised questions over the quality of the attendant.

The official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government will check to see whether Cho's action was in violation of aviation safety regulations. The regulations require that cabin crew members take orders only from their captain while aboard a flight.

"We will see if (the incident) was in violation of the law. We must review related laws as this is an unprecedented incident," the official told reporters.

The official said the government may still take disciplinary action, such as issuing a warning, against the airline even if its review finds that Cho's action did not violate aviation safety regulations.

"Even if she is the vice president of the airline, she was one of the passengers and should have been treated as one," he said. The lesson for the flight attendant could have been given after returning to South Korea, he said. (Yonhap)