The fallout occurred after a passenger on a Cathay flight recorded and posted on mainland Chinese social media the cabin crew members mocking the English-language proficiency of a customer.

Cathay’s social media has been flooded with comments, mostly from angry mainland users, disparaging its service standards.

Lam, in the memo to staff seen by the Post, said news of the incident had circulated widely on the mainland and in the city, “causing significant damage to the image of Hong Kong and Cathay”.

“This incident has reinforced a perception held by some customers that we have not been able to provide high-quality services to customers from different backgrounds consistently,” Lam said.

“In other words, they believe this is about more than this single incident, but is something much deeper which we need to address,” he warned, adding that many commentators had referenced “long-held” negative impressions of Cathay in the aftermath of the scandal.

“I am committed to getting to the bottom of this and driving corresponding improvements via a cross-departmental task force that I will lead personally.”

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He also stressed that the company had “a duty of care to all our customers, and we want them to feel respected and valued regardless of their background”.

Referring to the firing of the trio, Lam said the company had to respond swiftly to protect the interests of the airline and its other employees.

Cathay on Tuesday sacked the three flight attendants at the centre of the controversy after an audio recording of a conversation among them was released by a Mandarin-speaking passenger on the flight from Chengdu in Sichuan province to Hong Kong over the weekend.

The post on Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like mainland social e-commerce platform, went viral. In the recording, a flight attendant can be heard making fun of passengers for mixing up “carpet” and “blanket”, with one saying: “If you cannot say ‘blanket’, you cannot have it.”

The conversation, followed by laughter among the attendants, continued with one of them saying: “It’s true … Carpet is on the floor … Feel free if you want.”

Another added: “Yes, feel free, [remove it], lie on it.”

The person who posted the recording also accused one of the attendants of saying in Cantonese to colleagues that passengers “can’t understand human language” after making an in-flight announcement in Cantonese reminding people to remain seated when the seat belt sign was on, but an elderly person holding a child still went to the toilet.

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The user on Wednesday said they would stop updating the account given that Cathay had investigated the incident, and the reason for publicising it was simply because they “could not tolerate any form of discrimination”.

According to a source familiar with Cathay’s operations, it appeared that a mainland passenger had wanted to ask for a blanket but instead used the word “carpet”, which amused the serving flight attendant who told other crew members.

“It is common for crew members to discuss their interactions and passengers’ behaviour in the galley if they find it amusing,” the source said, adding that it was still important for crew members to remain professional.

“Of course, crew are always told to speak softly and work quietly. All this is part of Cathay’s training,” he said.

Cathay’s cabin crew union on Wednesday expressed regret over the incident but said morale was at an all-time low, with the airline facing a manpower shortfall despite an increased workload and reduced pay.

The union also urged the company to address the cause of the problem.

“Nothing comes from nothing. The union urges the company to address the problem at its root cause, rebuild a reasonable and safe work environment and hence improve employee morale,” said the Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants’ Union (FAU).

In a quick rebuttal, the carrier on Thursday issued a statement to “make it clear that the company does not condone, support or agree with the FAU’s position on this matter”.

Cathay service delivery director Mandy Ng Kit-man said the FAU was “an independent trade union that does not represent the company in any way”. Ng added the airline would instead communicate “directly with our crew” through multiple online and in-person channels.

The Post has contacted Cathay and the union for comments.

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Cathay’s account on mainland social media platform Weibo has been flooded with thousands of comments from enraged internet users, with some sharing other unpleasant experiences with the airline in the past few days.

On Wednesday, CEO Lam also apologised in Mandarin to affected passengers and the public, the company’s fourth expression of regret in three days.

Cathay is a listed company but deemed accountable to the administration after it had to rely on government help to stay afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The mainland is Cathay’s most important market and driver of revenue, with travellers from across the border flying to Hong Kong and overseas destinations.

Additional reporting by Lilian Cheng