Korean Air Flight Delayed Over Nuts
Heather Cho (Cho Hyun-ah), a senior vice-president of Korean Air, caused a delay in Korean Air flight KE086 when she demanded that a flight crew member be removed from the plane for serving nuts incorrectly.
The incident began when a flight attendant served a bag of macadamia nuts to Ms. Cho in a bag instead of on a plate, as per Korean Air in-flight service regulations. After scolding the flight attendant, she demanded to speak with the senior flight attendant in charge of the staff. However, after speaking with them, she decided their response was inadequate and forced the plane to return to the terminal so that the crew member could be ejected from the plane.
According to Korean Air the flight only arrived 11 minutes late, but some are questioning the legality of Ms. Cho’s actions. Although the airline says that checking for service standards is part of her job, her actions may have violated South Korean aviation regulations regarding planes that are preparing for takeoff.
The transport and aviation authorities are conducting an investigation into this incident which will ultimately determine the outcome for Ms. Cho.