Shilpa Shetty accuses Australian airline staff of racism at Sydney airport
Shilpa Shetty wrote that they must know that being callour and rude will not be tolerated.
- Sep 24, 2018,
- Updated Sep 24, 2018 3:47 PM IST
Actress Shilpa Shetty has accused an Australian airline staff of racism at the Sydney airport. The actress was travelling from Sydney to Melbourne and came across a staff member of Qantas Airways who was curt to Shetty because of her skin colour, she alleges. Shetty took to social media to share the incident. One's tone should not be dictated by preference to skin colour, she wrote in her angry post.
Shetty wrote that while travelling to Melbourne, she came across a staff member at the check-in counter called Mel, who was grumpy. Mel spoke curtly to the actress and her co-travellers because she decided it was okay to do so to brown people. Shetty further says that she had 2 duffle bags that was allowed with her. However, Mel informed her that her "half-empty" duffle bag was oversized and that she needs to check-in at the counter that deals with oversized bags.
Once she reached the other counter, she was met by a very polite staff member who informed her that her bag was not oversized at all and that she should go and get her check-in done from a manual counter. Shetty said that all that was happening while the counter was going to shut in 5 minutes.
She wrote that she tried the manual check-in but couldn't get it done. So, she went back to Mel as her colleague had already clarified that Shetty's bag was not oversized. However, Mel refused again and they had to go back to the oversized baggage counter. When she informed the staff member at the oversized baggage counter that Mel will not let her bag pass as a normal sized one, another colleague reiterated that her bag was not oversized and should have been allowed for check-in.
Shetty said that she wants Qantas to know about the incident and take cognisance of the matter. She added that their staff must be taught to be helpful. "TONE can't change with preference to #COLOUR ."WE" are NOT #pushovers and they MUST know that being #callous and #Rude will NOT BE TOLERATED," she wrote.
She then asked Qantas to say whether the duffle bag on the picture she had posted is oversized.
Qantas replied to her in a tweet and apologised for her experience.
This is not the first time Shilpa Shetty has come face-to-face with instances of racism. In 2007, Shetty was part of British reality show, Celebrity Big Brother, where she faced racism. She, however, emerged as the winner of the show.
(Edited by Anwesha Madhukalya)
Actress Shilpa Shetty has accused an Australian airline staff of racism at the Sydney airport. The actress was travelling from Sydney to Melbourne and came across a staff member of Qantas Airways who was curt to Shetty because of her skin colour, she alleges. Shetty took to social media to share the incident. One's tone should not be dictated by preference to skin colour, she wrote in her angry post.
Shetty wrote that while travelling to Melbourne, she came across a staff member at the check-in counter called Mel, who was grumpy. Mel spoke curtly to the actress and her co-travellers because she decided it was okay to do so to brown people. Shetty further says that she had 2 duffle bags that was allowed with her. However, Mel informed her that her "half-empty" duffle bag was oversized and that she needs to check-in at the counter that deals with oversized bags.
Once she reached the other counter, she was met by a very polite staff member who informed her that her bag was not oversized at all and that she should go and get her check-in done from a manual counter. Shetty said that all that was happening while the counter was going to shut in 5 minutes.
She wrote that she tried the manual check-in but couldn't get it done. So, she went back to Mel as her colleague had already clarified that Shetty's bag was not oversized. However, Mel refused again and they had to go back to the oversized baggage counter. When she informed the staff member at the oversized baggage counter that Mel will not let her bag pass as a normal sized one, another colleague reiterated that her bag was not oversized and should have been allowed for check-in.
Shetty said that she wants Qantas to know about the incident and take cognisance of the matter. She added that their staff must be taught to be helpful. "TONE can't change with preference to #COLOUR ."WE" are NOT #pushovers and they MUST know that being #callous and #Rude will NOT BE TOLERATED," she wrote.
She then asked Qantas to say whether the duffle bag on the picture she had posted is oversized.
Qantas replied to her in a tweet and apologised for her experience.
This is not the first time Shilpa Shetty has come face-to-face with instances of racism. In 2007, Shetty was part of British reality show, Celebrity Big Brother, where she faced racism. She, however, emerged as the winner of the show.
(Edited by Anwesha Madhukalya)