KUNMING, China, Oct. 13 (UPI) — A Chinese airline said it is investigating allegations of female flight attendants being forced to climb into overhead luggage compartments as part of a hazing ritual.
Kunming Airlines issued a statement saying officials are investigating after a post on popular app WeChat featured photos of flight attendants for the airline inside the overhead luggage compartments.
The post said the female workers were forced to climb into the compartments by male security staff as part of an “industry ritual” after completing their first 30 to 50 hours of work.
Kunming Airlines said the pictures were taken after the crew’s duties had been completed and there were no safety risks to the flights.
“The company attaches high importance to this incident and will prevent such things from happening again,” the statement said.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said some of the flight attendants reported feeling bullied into complying with the “ritual” out of fear of being seen as uncooperative by senior colleagues.
