CREDIT: REUTERS/SONG EUN-SEOK/NEWS1 (SOUTH KOREA)
The former Korean Air Lines executive who delayed a flight because she was unhappy with the way she was served macadamia nuts apologised on Friday (December 12) over the incident, which fuelled outrage and ridicule in South Korea.
“I sincerely apologise for causing trouble for everyone. I’m sorry,” said Heather Cho on her way into a transportation ministry office in Seoul, near Gimpo International Airport, where she was expected to answer questions about last Friday’s (December 5) incident at New York’s Johh F. Kennedy International Airport.
Cho, who is the daughter of the airline’s chairman and was head of in-flight service before resigning this week, also said she would apologise to the cabin crew chief who was ordered off the plane when it returned to the gate shortly after push-back.
“I will apologise sincerely … in person,” she said in response to a question.
Dressed in black, she stood before the cameras but looked towards the ground as snow fell, her voice barely audible.
“I am stepping back from management front. I have no other plans,” said Cho, 40, who is also under a separate investigation by local prosecutors following a complaint filed by a civic group that accused her of breaking multiple laws.
The incident was first reported on Monday and public outrage grew after Korean Air issued what many in the country took to be a half-hearted apology that rationalised her conduct in the face of inadequate performance by the cabin crew chief.
Earlier on Friday, the airline’s chairman, Cho Yang-ho, made a public apology and said his daughter was being removed from all posts at affiliate companies. She had already quit her position as vice president.
Cho, who was seated in first class on the South Korea-bound flight, was displeased with being served macadamia nuts in a bag and not a dish. The pilot brought the plane back to its gate for the cabin crew chief to be expelled.
The Airbus A380 arrived at Incheon, near Seoul, 11 minutes behind schedule.
The Transport Ministry said it was reviewing whether Heather Cho violated aviation laws. She could face prosecution and a fine if found to have committed wrongdoing, an official said.
Investigators searched the offices of Korean Air on Thursday (December 11).
The incident has stoked both mirth and anger in South Korea, whose economy is dominated by powerful family-run conglomerates known as chaebol.
Local sales of macadamia nuts reportedly surged in the days following news of the incident.