Chinese Female Flight Attendant Kneeling in a Dress... "Excessive" vs "Regulation"

Assisted Passenger Requesting Help for 30 Minutes
Airline Issues Explanation Amid Growing Controversy

Controversy has arisen over a female flight attendant kneeling for an extended period while attending to passengers on a domestic flight in China.

On the 6th, Chinese media including Zhonghua Net extensively reported videos and photos of a female flight attendant kneeling for about 30 minutes beside a passenger who was expressing fear after the Sichuan Airlines (3U8920) flight encountered unexpected turbulence while flying from Hangzhou to Chengdu on the 5th.

According to reports, the aircraft in operation experienced severe vertical shaking due to turbulence, and a male passenger, feeling great fear, called the female flight attendant for help while seated.

A flight attendant of a Chinese airline has sparked controversy for kneeling for a long time while attending to passengers in a one-piece dress.
[Photo by Weibo]

However, as the turbulence continued for some time, the man found it difficult to shake off his fear of a potential crash and repeatedly requested assistance from the flight attendant. Eventually, the female flight attendant stayed beside the male passenger for over 30 minutes.

Wearing a red dress uniform and heels during her duties, the flight attendant kneeled on the floor to match the eye level of the seated male passenger, helping to alleviate his fear and provide psychological comfort.

The controversy intensified when other passengers who witnessed the scene captured videos and photos of the female flight attendant kneeling on the bare floor for a long time and reported them on social networking services (SNS) and local media.

The passenger who posted the photos on SNS wrote, "Helping passengers who express psychological anxiety is an important part of a flight attendant's duties, but requiring excessive assistance and having the airline regulate it as such feels like a violation of human rights." He added, "The female flight attendant was kneeling on the floor for a long time wearing a skirt or dress, but it is regrettable that the airline neither discouraged this nor provided appropriate support."

In particular, immediately after this incident, there is a growing call to revise the regulation that female flight attendants must wear skirts or dresses during work, as it is seen as an excessive rule with little relevance to their duties.

In fact, the female flight attendant appearing in the video of the controversial case maintained a kneeling posture on the floor to stabilize the passenger amid severe turbulence. Critics point out that her dress had no relevance to the safety-related duties of flight attendants and instead caused discomfort.

As the controversy continued, Sichuan Airlines clarified through its official SNS channel on the 6th, the day after the incident, stating, "Regarding the flight attendant who assisted the passenger to maintain calm, each cabin department has standard regulations for responding to passenger service," and emphasized, "All responses by flight attendants are conducted in accordance with the detailed provisions of these regulations," drawing a line against claims of excessive passenger assistance.