Chief Flight Attendant Fired for Vaping During Flight Duties, Sues Employer After Refusing to Accept

On April 23, the People's Court of Changning District, Shanghai held a launch ceremony for the "Protecting Employees' Legal Rights and Building Harmonious Labor Relations" Labor Law Promotion Week, along with a press conference on "Based on the New Journey of Chinese-style Modernization, Legally Protecting the Legal Rights of Workers and Employers." During the event, the court released a white paper on labor dispute cases involving disciplinary dismissals from 2020 to 2022 and reported typical cases.

One case mentioned involved flight attendant Wang, who was found vaping during a flight and was deemed to have committed a serious violation, resulting in his dismissal. Wang contested this and sued the company, demanding compensation. The Changning Court ultimately ruled that the company was not required to pay compensation for the unlawful termination of the labor contract.

Case Study

Flight attendant vaping during a flight endangers public safety, constituting a serious violation—Wang's labor contract dispute case against an airline

Significance

The legitimacy of an employer's unilateral termination of a labor contract based on an employee's serious violation has always been a key focus and difficulty in judicial review of similar cases. When reviewing individual cases, it is important to consider factors such as the nature of the employer, the characteristics of the industry, and the position and responsibilities of the employee, to comprehensively evaluate the severity of the relevant violations. In this case, the employer is an airline providing public services to a large number of passengers; the employee is a flight attendant in a critical position. Both from the nature of the employer and the responsibilities of the position, the requirements for safety production and strict compliance are very high. The employee should be aware of and consciously comply with relevant work norms and safety requirements, and his actions seriously deviated from the basic behavioral norms of the profession, constituting a serious violation.

Case Summary

Wang joined an airline in August 2006 as a cabin crew chief. In April 2019, during a flight, he was found vaping in the cabin. In July 2019, the airline terminated his employment based on the 2019 version of the "Performance Assessment Measures for Cabin Crew" which states that violations of national laws and regulations by crew members can lead to termination of the labor contract. Wang contested the company's decision and sued for compensation for unlawful termination of the labor contract.

The Changning Court found that the evidence of Wang's violation of rules by vaping in the cabin during the flight was conclusive. The focal point of the dispute was whether vaping constituted a serious violation. Wang argued that the company's regulations did not explicitly prohibit vaping during flights, and there are currently no laws that classify vaping as smoking, as e-cigarettes are electronic devices and not ignited tobacco, thus not falling under the civil aviation smoking ban. In response, the "Public Aviation Passenger Transport Flight Safety and Security Work Regulations" clearly state that disruptive behaviors on aircraft include "smoking (including e-cigarettes) and using fire sources." Combined with the provisions of the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law" regarding behaviors that disrupt the order of aircraft or other public transport, which can result in warnings, fines, or even detention, Wang's behavior of vaping in the cabin clearly violated relevant regulations. As a flight attendant, he should be more aware of the safety requirements for flying than an ordinary person. His willful behavior, although it did not result in serious consequences, was of a malicious nature and endangered public safety, constituting a serious violation. The airline's termination of the labor contract was thus based on factual and legal grounds, and it was not required to pay Wang compensation for unlawful termination of the labor contract.