Hong Kong’s Cathay bans Cantonese couple over insults hurled at mainland Chinese passenger

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has apologised and banned two Cantonese-speaking passengers after a mainland Chinese traveller complained they insulted her and made discriminatory remarks during a flight earlier this week.

According to a post uploaded by the Mandarin-speaking passenger on social media platform Xiaohongshu on Saturday, the row broke out on a flight from Hong Kong to London on Tuesday when she reclined her seat, which led the couple behind to accuse her of obstructing their view of the in-flight entertainment.

Her video post included scenes of the confrontation.

The couple, who spoke Cantonese, also jostled her seat, kicked her arm and verbally attacked her with slurs, she said.

Referring to the female Cantonese-speaker, the passenger said: “After she discovered that my Cantonese was not very fluent, she started to attack me with very discriminatory language, such as calling me a ‘mainland girl’.”