Cathay Pacific bans two passengers as seat-reclining dispute turns 'xenophobic'

Cathay Pacific Airlines banned two passengers last week from future flights after a heated argument over seat-reclining etiquette during a flight from Hong Kong to London escalated into xenophobic slurs, according to CNN.
A female passenger from mainland China posted a video on Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), recounting how the woman sitting behind her complained about reclining her seat.“The lady sitting behind me asked me to put my seat up because it was blocking her husband’s view of the TV. I politely declined, and she started stretching her feet onto my armrest, kicking my arm and cursing at me like crazy,” the woman said.
The issue has drawn attention to the ongoing tension between people from mainland China and Hong Kong.
A flight attendant attempted to calm the situation by suggesting the woman raise her seat but she refused. The situation quickly escalated when the woman behind her realised she did not speak fluent Cantonese. “She started throwing around some nasty comments, calling me a ‘Mainland girl’ and other derogatory stuff,” the passenger noted.
The tussle soon caught the attention of other passengers who tried defend the woman. “You’re old enough – why are you bullying a young girl?” one passenger said in Mandarin, while others, speaking in Cantonese, said: “You’re embarrassing us Hongkongers!” and “Stop saying you’re from Hong Kong!”.
The flight attendant eventually moved the woman to a different seat. “I felt it was absurd—what if no one had backed me up? Would I have just been left to deal with it on my own?” the passenger asked, adding that she expected Cathay Pacific to handle such incidents better.
In response, Cathay Pacific issued an apology for the “unpleasant experience” and confirmed the ban of both passengers involved. The airline reiterated its zero-tolerance policy for behaviour that violates aviation safety or disrespects other customers.
This incident comes after a similar controversy in May 2023, where Cathay Pacific dismissed three cabin crew members following allegations of discrimination against a mainland Chinese passenger. Cathay CEO Ronald Lam has since committed to improving service standards across the airline.