Staff in lockers, wierd bullying on Chinese airline

Would you mind being bundled into an aircraft’s overhead luggage locker and made to lie there, even though you know it is just a “fun” gesture by your male colleagues to mark your initiation into their airline?

The airline released a statement saying that these incidents happened without their knowledge, and that they will be conducting an investigation to find those responsible.

The airline’s statement backtracks on an earlier response it issued after receiving a torrent of online criticism following the publication of the images on a WeChat account named Civil Aviation Tabloid.

Employees claim that after women have completed between 30 and 50 hours of flight service, male Kunming Airlines employees have forced the women to climb into the overhead bins.

On one occasion, a girl was forced into a locker though she was in bad shape and almost fell out.

An airline based in south-west China has vowed to hold accountable those behind a scandal in which security staff allegedly compelled new flight attendants to cram into overhead compartments as “a rite of passage”, according to media reports yesterday.

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The practice was said to be going on for the past four to five years.

The airline said it had never received complaints from its cabin crew, adding: “The company attaches high importance to this incident and will prevent such things from happening again”.

And Chinese state broadcaster, CCTV News, said the photos had been posted after growing unrest about the rituals among staff.

The alleged activity was done after the crew had completed their official flight duties and “the safety of the flight and passengers was not affected”, according to the South China Morning Post report.