Cathay Pacific has been forced to apologize after a video emerged of an airport ground worker throwing several cases down a set of airstairs. The worker has now been removed from her position pending an investigation.
The short video clip of the ground worker mishandling passenger luggage was uploaded to TikTok a few days ago with the caption, “Wonder why your suitcase is broken all the time?”.
The video quickly went viral and Cathay Pacific was in the spotlight as the ground worker could be seen wearing one of the airline’s tabards beside a Cathay Pacific plane.
Cathay Pacific did not confirm when or where the incident took place, but it’s clear that the airline quickly managed to identify the worker. The aircraft that is seen in the video last flew on July 14 on a 13-hour flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong.
Sadly, despite the risk of being caught in the act, some ground handling staff still seem to have pretty shoddy approach to how they deal with other people’s property.
Earlier this year, for example, a video of baggage handlers tossing golfing equipment which belonged to a Tennessee University men’s golf team soon went viral and landed the workers in hot water.
The video was taken by a member of the team from inside the plane as they waited to deplane following their flight.
And last November, two baggage handlers at American Airlines were filmed sliding a wheelchair down a luggage chute with such force that the mobility device crashed into a metal barrier, flipped over and slammed onto the tarmac.
The airline described the incident as “deeply concerning” and promised to improve the way it handles assistive devices for disabled passengers.
Tarmac hasn’t been used since the 1950s. It’s too soft to handle the weight of modern aircraft. Airports now use asphalt for aprons and runways.