LOT cabin crew director who fat-shamed British Airways staff is fired
Employee criticised flight attendants’ teeth, weight, hair and dress
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Your support makes all the difference.A cabin crew director for Polish airline LOT has been fired after she posted fat-shaming comments about British Airways staff on Facebook
Katarzyna Richter shared candid pictures of BA flight attendants, along with criticisms of their “unpolished shoes, holes in tights, too tight uniform, double chin, rotten and uneven teeth, messy hairstyle".
The comments were picked up by Facebook account A Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew Lounge, a group for flight attendants.
The editor wrote of the attack: “I’m disgusted by the actions of someone in such a position of a major airline. I wonder if Katarzyna thought about the effect her words and photos would have on her BA colleagues when she used hashtags such as #BritishAirways and #Cabincrew in an effort to make her bullying be seen by more.
“At a time where cyberbullying is at the forefront of attention, you would think someone who prides herself on cultural understanding would be more careful with making such a public attack.”
He added: “I could understand this type of judgments being made by a normal passenger who is unaware of the factors faced by cabin crew. But I cannot excuse such an invasion of privacy and bullying by someone who has stood in that same galley but now parades herself as a successful CEO and director of cabin crew for a national airline.”
LOT soon became aware of the comments, stating that it follows a “strict policy of not commenting on our fellow colleagues from other airlines” and was investigating the incident.
An airline spokesperson has since told The Independent: “We are truly sorry for this situation. The comments published by one of our employees on the private Facebook profile are contrary to the applicable standards and the value system adopted at LOT Polish Airlines. Such behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our company, therefore we decided to terminate the co-operation with Ms Richter with immediate effect.
“Furthermore, we ensure that this situation will never happen again by drawing even more attention to the notification of Social Media Policy and applicable procedures to our employees. The importance of Social Media Policy shall be once again underlined during upcoming trainings which our employees undergo on a regular basis.“
Ms Richter, a self-styled career mentor who has released her own e-book, Life After Flying: How to Quit Flying and Build a New Career Around Your Passion, and launched her own business, dealwithculture, has now deleted the post and apologised for her original comments.
She wrote on Facebook: “I would like to apologise to the British Airways crew and all those affected by my inappropriate comment. I regret my behaviour – I should not assess the competence and appearance of employees of another airline. I’m very sorry.”
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