The German airline Lufthansa has come under fire for alleged discriminatory behavior by its flight attendants towards Indian passengers. A Reddit user, who is of Indian origin and resides in New York, shared a post detailing multiple instances of rude and disrespectful treatment by the Lufthansa staff.
The incidents described include a flight attendant yelling at an elderly woman who was not fluent in English for not speaking clearly when she requested tea, and another where a passenger's request for a vegetarian meal was met with a chicken dish, which the crew refused to replace after it had been opened.
''Ground service agents at Frankfurt were not helpful, specifically Lufthansa employees. One such example: I asked an airline representative where I could fill my water bottle in Frankfurt, and he replied by saying "Do I look like the information desk to you, don't ask me,'' he wrote in the post.
The staff's attitude was disrespectful to the elderly and non-English speakers. An incident involved an elderly woman, not fluent in English, trying to point to tea on the cart. Instead of understanding, a crew member almost yelled, telling her to "open your mouth and use your words." Customers asking for napkins were lectured about "waiting their turn."
''This same crew member went on a rant near me, talking to a customer about why they're ordering food if they're not going to eat it. This was comical, considering that Lufthansa had messed up the catering for the flights, and had made all the vegetarian dishes into vegan ones, which were almost inedible (I honestly do not know what happened or how. It was very confusing,'' he further wrote.
Another incident from the same flight involved a woman who ordered vegetarian food but was served chicken. When she pointed it out and asked for a replacement, a crew member refused, stating that since she had opened it, they couldn't replace it. The crew member compared it to going to a restaurant, eating the food, and then asking for it to be taken back.
The Reddit post resonated with many, including Bengaluru-based techie Shantanu Goel, who echoed the sentiments of discrimination and shared the post on X (a social media platform), stating that such behavior from Lufthansa staff is not uncommon and is a reason he chooses not to fly with them. ''All this behavior, including downright rude and idiotic staff is unfortunately not an aberration but quite common on Lufthansa, which is why I never fly it,'' Goel wrote.
Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma also weighed in on the controversy, expressing his support for Indian airlines like Air India and Indigo as preferable alternatives to European carriers.
''Can't wait for Air India and Indigo to go places -- many of us would rather not fly European airlines,'' Sharma said.
These accusations have sparked a broader conversation about the treatment of Indian passengers by Lufthansa, with several individuals sharing their own experiences of racism. The backlash against the airline has been significant, with calls to avoid traveling with Lufthansa until the matter is addressed.
"Wait I think my mom was on the flight bc she was telling me she had the same issues with staff being rude and the meal mishap. I was going to report them on their website as well," a user wrote. Another one commented, "I feel like they don’t take stuff like this seriously unfortunately :/ Update: posted on there:. This is what happened:" "''Time to do a ‘Maldives' on Lufthansa," a third user commented.
''Lufthansa and Air France are notorious for how they treat Indian patrons. Emirates, Air India, Etihad, and Singapore airlines are much better for Seniors in particular,'' a fourth user commented.