A flight attendant working for Jetstar accused of attempting to contact a young female passenger through Facebook has been dismissed.
Spokesman for the airline Simon Westaway said that the flight attendant had obtained the passengers details from a boarding pass and tried to add her as a friend on the social networking site.
The airline launched an investigation and spoke with the flight attendant, deciding that he should be dismissed.
The teenager was a passenger on a Jetstar flight from the Sunshine Coast to Melbourne with her mother an 16 year-ld sister when the flight attendant initially spoke to her near the plane’s toilets.
The girl’s mother said that her daughters did not give the attendant their names but the younger one received a friend request which was followed by messages asking why she hadn’t added him as a friend.
Mr Westaway said that a very senior manager had contacted the mother and expressed an apology to her.
It was originally believed that the cabin crew member accessed the passengers details from the flight manifest, but Westaway understands that he got the girls’ name from a boarding pass.
Westaway said that all Jetstar employees are encouraged to take a warm approach with customers and engage with them, and policy on social networking sites stated that staff must portray the company in a positive manner.