A Malaysia Airlines air cabin steward has been detained in France over allegations that he sexually assaulted an Australian passenger who was scared of flying with the airline.
The airline confirmed in a statement that French police had detained a crew member for questioning following allegations of ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour’ to a passenger on flight MH20 from Kuala Lumpur to Paris on August 4.
The Australian passenger made the claims to authorities after landing at Charles de Gaulle.
She said she had made crew aware at the beginning of the flight that she was concerned about flying with Malaysia Airlines after the two recent disasters.
She claims the crew member sat beside her and sexually assaulted her under the pretext of ‘comforting’ her, according to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Malaysia Airlines said it would assist French authorities in their investigation, adding ‘the safety, comfort and well-being of our passengers is always our highest priority’.
"Malaysia Airlines expects and accepts nothing short of the highest standards of conduct from its crew and takes any such allegations very seriously," it added.
The case is yet another setback for the struggling national carrier.
In March, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people aboard en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Last month, Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine killing all 298 on board.
Last week, Malaysia’s state investment firm Khazanah Nasional, which currently owns 69.4% of the airline, said it plans to buy out minority shareholders so it can start a restructuring plan.
The airline has been losing money for many years as the area has been flooded with low cost rivals and its market value has fallen by more than 40% in the past nine months.
