Korean Air executive resigns after “nut rage”

But daughter of airline chairman remains a vice president

The Korean Air executive in charge of inflight service has resigned after a scandal that started with a packet of nuts.

She ordered a plane to return to the gate at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport last Friday to expel a male flight attendant who was preparing to serve her nuts in a packet instead of putting them on a plate. The flight eventually arrived in South Korea 11 minutes late.

Heather Cho, who was vice president responsible for inflight service, is the daughter of the airline’s chairman, Cho Yang-ho. Korean Air has apologised for the incident, but said that Heather Cho would remain a vice president of the company.

The BBC reported that the crew member had replied to Cho with “lies and excuses” when challenged over the correct nut-serving procedure. Transport authorities are now investigating whether Cho infringed aviation law, and a South Korean transport ministry official said, “Even though she is senior vice-president at the company, she was a passenger at that time, so she had to behave and be treated as a passenger.”

Reuters / BBC

[image courtesy Korean Air]