Βritish Airways has fired two cabin crew members after a racist video they posted on Instagram 18 months ago was shared on TikTok last weekend.
The video shows Holly Walton filmed by colleague Lauren Bray making slant-eyed gestures and saying in a faux Chinese accent : “Give me wine.”
The pair filmed the video at the Trade Winds Hotel in Antigua during a layover following a flight from London Gatwick.
It was shared last Saturday on TikTok by @Jadenguyen_2 with the comment: “@BritishAirways explain yourselves??? Your cabin crew trying to racistly imitate Asian passengers and sharing it online, this is so upsetting.”
The two were drinking at the Trade Winds Hotel in Antigua during the layover when the video was filmed.
After the video was posted online, colleagues of the duo expressed their shock and disgust over the racist clip. One colleague said the women were “deliberately laughing” at the family which “sends out the worst message possible.” Another Asian staff member said, ”I’m reeling from seeing this video. It makes me question the airline and my colleagues. Action has to be taken. We won’t stand for it.”
Since the TikTok was posted on Saturday it has been viewed over 1.1 million times, alerting members of British Airways staff and management to the offensive content over the weekend.
BA is understood to have immediately brought Holly back from Cancun, where she had flown for work, and the pair were fired earlier this week. BA said in a statement: “All forms of racism are completely unacceptable, and we take allegations of this nature very seriously. These two individuals are no longer employed by us.”
Another told the Sun: “This recording is obscene. For anyone to have such racist thoughts, to then film them and share them with the world, is shocking and dumb in equal measure. This is hugely damaging for the airline and they deserved the axe.”
