Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific has banned two passengers from its flights after an argument over seat-reclining etiquette descended into xenophobic insults.
The incident occurred during a flight from Hong Kong to London on September 17, and a female passenger from mainland China recounted her experience in a video posted on on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), China’s version of Instagram.
“The lady sitting behind me asked me to put my seat up because it was blocking her husband’s view of the TV. I politely declined, and she started stretching her feet onto my armrest, kicking my arm and cursing at me like crazy,” she said.
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A flight attendant attempted to mediate by suggesting the woman raise her seat, but she refused, and the situation escalated.
“When (the female passenger) realised my Cantonese wasn’t so great, she started throwing around some nasty comments, calling me a ‘Mainland girl’ and other derogatory stuff,” the woman said.
People from Hong Kong speak mainly Cantonese, whereas mainland Chinese mainly speak Mandarin.
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“Once I started recording, the husband behind me even shoved his hand on my armrest and started shaking it like crazy. I felt my personal space had been completely violated,” added the woman, who said other passengers then intervened.
In footage of the incident uploaded by the woman, a female voice can be heard saying in Mandarin: “You’re old enough — why are you bullying a young girl?”
And others can be heard shouting in Cantonese: “You’re embarrassing us Hongkongers!” and “Stop saying you’re from Hong Kong!”
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“After some passengers spoke up for me, the flight attendant finally said I could switch seats. I felt it was absurd—what if no one had backed me up? Would I have just been left to deal with it on my own?” the passenger said.
“As a major airline, isn’t Cathay supposed to know how to handle such disputes? Shouldn’t treating passengers differently get some consequences?”
In a statement released Saturday, Cathay Pacific said it wanted to “sincerely apologise” for the “unpleasant experience.”
“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any behaviour that violates aviation safety regulations or disrespects the rights of other customers,” the airline said.
“We will deny future travel on any Cathay Group flights to the two customers involved in this incident.”
While the incident adds to the long-running and often heated debate over the etiquette around reclining seats on planes, it also highlights tension between people from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kongers – the result of differing political views and cultural identities, and fueled by the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
The woman later posted a follow-up video in which she said she thought the incident was “an isolated case and a personal issue; it doesn’t need to be blown out of proportion.”
“Whether on the plane or online, many Hong Kongers came to help and support me. There are still plenty of nice people in this world!” she added.
However, Cathay, Hong Kong’s flag carrier, has got into hot water with Chinese authorities in the past.
Some of its staff took part in the 2019 protests, leading to a backlash from the Chinese government, and this is not the first incident involving alleged anti-Chinese discrimination on board a Cathay flight.
In May 2023, the airline said it had fired three cabin crew members after a passenger from mainland China complained of discrimination.
In a statement announcing the dismissals, Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam said he would personally lead a task force to improve service and avoid similar incidents in the future.
“We need to ensure that all Cathay Pacific employees must at all times respect customers from different backgrounds and cultures, and that we provide quality services consistently across all markets that we serve,” he said.
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