Bullied cabin crew stuffed into overhead compartments
A Chinese airline has promised to stop bullying by members of its staff.
The action comes after images showed new cabin crew being forced to lie in aircraft overhead luggage lockers.
The pictures were published on a WeChat social media account called Civil Aviation Tabloid over the weekend.
The post alleged that almost all cabin crew were forced into lockers by security staff after completing 30 to 50 hours service at the airline, South China Morning Post reported.
These incidents have allegedly been going on for the past four or five years, The Shanghaiist added.
They would take place after cabin crew completed their work.
Kunming Airlines issued a statement on Monday (Oct 12) saying it was "extremely concerned" about the incidents.
The airline, based in southwest China, said the bullying was carried out without its knowledge.
It had not received any complaints from cabin crew before, adding that the safety of flights was never affected.
It also promised to take action against those involved and stamp out bullying:
"The company attaches high importance to the incident and will prevent such things from happening again.”
The Chinese aviation industry has been growing at a robust rate.
In the first quarter of 2015, traffic from China’s airlines surpassed 100 million passengers for the first time.
But success has come at a high cost for the women as the airlines exploit female staff, based on the assumption that affluent consumers in China’s new market economy are mostly male, Fortune magazine said.
Citing a report in The Conversation, it cites how women are treated like commodities, from pageant-type fairs that are held to hire young and attractive flight attendants to inflexible work arrangements.
A sexist organisational culture further worsens the job insecurity that women have to grapple with.
Sources: South China Morning Post, Weibo/ Civil Aviation Tabloid, Kunming Airlines, Shanghaiist, Fortune magazine, The Conversation, Centre for Aviation
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