Korean Air Lines’ Vice-President Cho Hyun-ah has been forced to resign from her executive roles at the carrier in the face of public anger over a flight that was delayed because she was unhappy with the way she was served macadamia nuts by a flight attendant. Hyun-ah, who is also the daughter of the airline’s chairman, went berserk when a junior flight attendant offered her the nuts in a bag, not on a plate.

She subsequently had the plane return to the gate at John F Kennedy airport in New York City to have the crew member de-board. The flight left 20 minutes late and reached its destination, Incheon, 11 minutes late. The incident sparked anger in South Korea, whose economy is dominated by powerful family-run conglomerates known as chaebol. The outrage grew after Korean Air issued a half-hearted apology that rationalised her conduct, saying it was "natural" for Cho to fault crew's ignorance of procedures.

Profuse apologies

In the face of growing pressure, Hyun-ah was forced to step down and was also questioned by Transport Authorities over whether her actions violated aviation safety laws.

Following her resignation, her father made a public apology. "I apologise to the people of this country as chairman of Korean Air and as a father, for the trouble caused by my daughter's foolish conduct," said Cho Yang-ho, bowing deeply in front of the media packing the airline’s headquarters. "I am sorry I did not educate her well," he said. Just hours later, Hyun-ah made her own apology. "I sincerely apologise. I'm sorry," she said, adding that she will meet the victimised crew member and "apologise sincerely."

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