Passenger Safety at Risk? Whistleblower Flight Attendant Shares Alarming Experiences

① Airline Crew Reveals Aircraft Operation Status

An employee of an airline in South Korea has exposed the aircraft’s operational status.
The whistleblower, who identified themselves as a crew member currently employed by Korean Air, posted photos they took, along with a post on an anonymous online community for employees.

The whistleblower stated, “During passenger boarding, the in-flight meal is loaded. If 100 people are boarding, instead of loading 110 meals, considering the reservation status and the number of people on the spot, 90 meals are loaded first. After waiting until the last passenger has boarded, an additional 10 meals are loaded.” The airline’s late addition of in-flight meals is claimed to be a cost-saving measure.

The whistleblower also released photos of ramen boxes and bottled water stacked in front of the emergency exit. They revealed, “It violates the regulation to keep the area around the emergency exit clean. The storage boxes for safety and medical equipment are all blocked, making it impossible to check in advance.” They added, “We must complete safety checks and tidy the cabin within 20 minutes before takeoff. Even if there was a bullet, we absolutely couldn’t find it like in the past.”

In March, two live rounds of ammunition were discovered just before the departure of a Korean Air flight to Manila in the Philippines. The flight had to turn back just before takeoff when a passenger found the bullets and alerted the crew.

The items in the photo were disorganized and seemed liable to fall to the floor. The photo sparked criticism, demonstrating the poor management of the aircraft. The whistleblower expressed concern about the situation moving forward.

② Attention to Exposé Before Resignation

A post left by a Korean Air crew member just before their resignation has garnered attention. In the past, anonymous exposés through online communities about Korean Air have occurred multiple times. This crew member left a post saying, “Please save what needs to be saved… I am leaving because there is no future anymore.” They mentioned that crew members pour water into paper cups to give to passengers because they are reluctant to waste the water provided to passengers. The crew member criticized, “Even on long-haul flights, they barely set up one 330ml bottle, and it’s ridiculous to give just one more bottle per passenger on long-haul flights over 10 hours.”

Regarding in-flight meals, they said, “It’s already a known fact that the quantity and taste of in-flight meals have decreased after COVID-19.” They also mentioned that they don’t provide amenities to mid-range business passengers, and the service level has been dropping even though the ticket price is higher than other airlines.

They pointed out that the meals provided to the crew are also terrible. Finally, this crew member left a message saying, “Even enslaved people are fed while they work. I am leaving because there is no future anymore. I wrote this hoping the management above would see it at least once.”

③ Controversy Over Poor In-Flight Service

In April last year, a Korean Air crew member stated, “After COVID-19, the number of staff has decreased, and there is a shortage of crew members. It’s impossible to respond if an emergency occurs.” According to the crew member, there were only three crew members on an economy flight with over 100 passengers. They expressed fear and anxiety about flying alone during medium to long-haul flights when some crew members need to rest. They also left a message saying, “On my flight, I pray that all passengers pass without complaints, without getting sick, without any irregular situations.”

Korean Air was embroiled in controversy last year over poor in-flight service. The airfare has increased, but the service has decreased.

These passenger complaints are directly conveyed to the crew members. The poor service was due to the lack of staff, including crew members, reduced due to COVID-19. One netizen attracted attention by revealing photos of poor in-flight meals after purchasing a one-way Korean Air prestige seat for 648 million won (approx. $546,000).

On the first of last month, a piece of glass was found in a passenger’s coffee on a Korean Air flight from Guangzhou, China, to Incheon Airport. After drinking the coffee provided after the in-flight meal, the passenger spat out a piece of glass about 0.2 inches long. Although they were not injured, the airline crew asked them to vomit out all the food they had eaten to prepare for any possible situation. The piece of glass was confirmed to have come from a broken coffee cup.

The passengers informed the media about the incident themselves, stating to Korean Air that they did not want compensation or medical expenses but demanded preventative measures be put in place. However, the airline did not accept the passenger’s request and instead offered to cover medical expenses and provided a 100,000 won (approx. $84) electronic preferential discount coupon. A Korean Air official stated, “We will investigate the circumstances with the in-flight meal supplier to prevent similar cases from recurring and will strengthen the inspection process for the breakage of in-flight meal utensils.”

By. Seo Sung Min