(Yicai Global) May 24 -- Cathay Pacific Airways swiftly dismissed three flight attendants for alleged discrimination against a passenger from the Chinese mainland for being unable to speak English.

Ronald Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong-based carrier, announced yesterday the results of an internal investigation and publicly apologized for the incident for a third time. Cathay Pacific will show zero tolerance for such serious violations of company rules and ethics, he added.

On May 21, a passenger complained on social media that flight attendants on a Cathay Pacific flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong that day had mocked another passenger’s lack of English ability. The person posted an audio recording of the alleged incident in which someone is heard to say in English, “If you cannot say ‘blanket’ in English, you cannot have it.”

Other passengers followed suit in sharing similar experiences.

Cathay Pacific issued an apology on the evening of May 21, and another yesterday afternoon, announcing that it had suspended the cabin crew members involved in the incident and had launched an internal investigation.

In yesterday’s statement, Lam also said he will personally lead an interdepartmental team to conduct a comprehensive review to ensure Cathay Pacific’s staff respects passengers from different backgrounds and cultures and provides professional and consistent service.

Cathay Pacific’s largest shareholder is UK conglomerate Swire Group. Air China is the second-biggest.

Shares of Cathay Pacific [HKG: 0293] closed down 1.6 percent at HKD7.50 (96 US cents) each in Hong Kong today, after falling 1.3 percent yesterday.

Editor: Futura Costaglione