A Taiwanese airline has come under fire after allegedly requesting documents from a deceased flight attendant, sparking widespread outrage on social media.
A 34-year-old Eva Air flight attendant, known by the surname Sun, died earlier this month after reportedly falling ill while on duty. Despite her demise, the management of the airline needed something from her.
A few days after her death, the airline sent a text message asking for proof of leave applications and asked to submit the documents as soon as possible.
A Taiwanese airline sent a message to a deceased flight attendant asking for sick leave documents on the day of her funeral
The incident occurred when the company sent a message to the crew on the day of her funeral. The company asked the victim to provide proof of family care leave taken on 27 September, and the message even asked the deceased flight attendant to send a photo of the document as soon as possible, reported Formosa News.
The grieving family members were shocked and baffled by the message before responding by sending the death certificate in the form of a PDF file titled Death Certificate.pdf to the company. After the death certificate was sent, the family sarcastically responded by saying,
“I just sent the documents as quickly as requested. There’s nothing to rush now.”
The airline issued a public apology
In a statement to the BBC, Eva Air claimed it was in contact with Sun’s family while she was in hospital and was deeply saddened by the death of its employee.
“The health and safety of our employees and passengers is our highest priority,” the company said in a press conference where they publicly apologised.
Sun reportedly began feeling unwell on 24 September during a flight from Milan to Eva Air’s base in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. She was admitted to the hospital upon arrival and died on 8 October.
According to Sun’s family, a few days after her death, they received a text message from an Eva Air representative asking for documents to prove Sun’s leave application at the end of September, but were responded with a copy of the woman’s death certificate.
A senior Eva Air official said the text message was an internal employee’s mistake and the company has personally apologised to Sun’s family for the incident.
“The departure of Ms Sun is the pain in our hearts forever,” Eva Air President Sun Chia-Ming said.
Eva Air is currently conducting an internal investigation into the matter.
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