Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

KLM Airlines Apologizes After Discriminating Against South Korean Passengers By Barring Them From Using Bathroom Amid Coronavirus Fears

KLM Airlines Apologizes After Discriminating Against South Korean Passengers By Barring Them From Using Bathroom Amid Coronavirus Fears
Thierry Monasse via Getty Images; @hyunmoyang/Twitter

International airline giant KLM Royal Dutch Airlines found itself in hot water recently after an on-board note appeared to target Korean people on the assumption that they were likeliest to carry the coronavirus.

In a world of quick smartphone photos and constant internet connection, racial stereotypes like that can explode in minutes.

That's exactly what happened.


KLM flight 855 carried passengers from Amsterdam to Seoul, South Korea. The Europe-to-Asia flight naturally held a mixture of White European and Asian passengers.

The on-board notices, however, were more one-dimensional than the manifest.

The controversy stems from crew members' decision to place a notice on one of the plane's bathrooms. The note stated that no customers were permitted to use one lavatory, crew members only.

That note, written only in Korean, was obviously geared toward one specific group of passengers.

The omitted English note did not go unnoticed.

For English-only speakers, find a translation of the lengthy caption below.

Connie_Kim/Instagram

To @connie_kiim and so many others since, the note implied that KLM crew members disproportionately viewed South Korean passengers as more threatening than any others on the flight.

"Disproportionate" is the key word here.

As of February 11 there were 64,000 confirmed coronavirus cases globally. South Korea only accounted for 27 of those cases. That's .04%.

KLM Airlines replied to @connie_kiim with the following message:

"Dear Connie, when a flight is not fully booked, sometimes a toilet is reserved for crew only. KLM deeply regrets that the passengers on this specific flight were offended because the sign announcing this was in the Korean language only."
"We conduct an internal investigation and will make sure the crew involved understand why the passengers are upset about what happened."

KLM also brought the backpedal to the public eye.

Reuters reports that Guillaume Glass, an Air France-KLM regional general manager, gave some rationale, saying:

"This is a human mistake, and we don't take it lightly."
"We are deeply sorry that this was viewed as discrimination, which was absolutely not the intention of the crew."

Thus, KLM did not apologize for problematic bias, but a logistical oversight.

The minced-word apology didn't quite do it for folks on the internet.

When @connie_kiim's friend posted the original photo of the note, along with a lengthy full account of the experience, Twitter blew up.





Leave it to a physically threatening global virus to give people a feeling of legitimacy around targeting others.

More from Trending

Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump Blasted For Announcing New Additions To The White House Lawn As Global Tensions Escalate

President Donald Trump was criticized after announcing that two new flagpoles would be added to the North and South Lawns of the White House—not the greatest look amid heightened global unease as tensions between Israel and Iran ramp up.

According to the Associated Press, Trump watched as a crane installed the newest flagpole on the South Lawn, remarking, “It’s such a beautiful pole.” He later returned to the site to salute as the American flag was raised for the first time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Donald Trump from CNN supercut
CNN

Trump Mocked For 'Two Weeks' Iran Deadline With Supercut Of All His 'Two Weeks' Promises

President Donald Trump has a history of promising to resolve problems within "two weeks," and a new viral supercut mocks him for all the times he's said as much—including right now with tensions in the Middle East higher than ever.

Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether to involve U.S. forces directly in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing what he called a “substantial chance” for renewed nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Keep ReadingShow less
red flag with pole on seashore
Seoyeon Choi on Unsplash

People Break Down The 'Silent Red Flags' Folks Tend To Ignore In Relationships

A red flag has come to mean any warning sign in life, in addition to the literal red flags that are placed on beaches or industrial sites to warn people of danger.

People will respond to situations by saying, "That’s a red flag." But before that language evolved, they'd just call them "warning signs."

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz; Tucker Carlson
The Tucker Carlson Show

Tucker Carlson And Ted Cruz Get Into Shouting Match Over Iran In Bonkers Interview Clip

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz—a harsh Donald Trump critic-turned-MAGA minion—sat down with fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for the conservative influencer's self-produced online content,The Tucker Carlson Show, for the Tucker Carlson Network.

On Tuesday, Carlson shared a 1.5-minute clip revealing that things got contentious when the pair touched on the Trump administration's escalating tensions with Iran.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Barack Obama
Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Resurfaced Trump Tweet Criticizing Obama Over Iran Comes Back To Bite Him

Amid tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump was criticized for hypocrisy after social media users resurfaced a 2013 tweet in which he accused former President Barack Obama of planning an attack on Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

Trump has declined to clarify whether the U.S. is edging closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a warning from Iran’s supreme leader against any attack and a rejection of Trump’s demand for surrender.

Keep ReadingShow less