BANGKOK – Flight attendants in Thailand are upset over the way their profession is portrayed in a new TV soap opera, Songkhram Nang Fah (The Air Hostess War), and have made their feelings public.
Cabin crew, led by airline union officials, have petitioned Thailand’s Culture Minister Khunying Khaisri Sri-aroon to get the drama pulled off the air.
Acting union president Somsak Srinual said the show, in which female flight attendants battle to win the heart of a pilot is humiliating and hurts their image.
Flight attendants will petition the television station and the National Human Rights Commission. Thai Airways president Apinant Sumaseranee and air force chief ACM Chalit Phukphasuk will also get an earful, according to the Bangkok Post.
Somsak said one scene was set inside a plane which resembled the interior of the national flag carrier’s aircraft.
The crew of other carriers, such as Bangkok Airways, also found the soap opera objectionable. They feared it would discourage young people from entering the profession.
The female lead in the drama is a charming air hostess, the envy of her co-workers, and a married pilot takes a fancy to her.
The show contains many scenes in which characters exact revenge, get jealous and fight each other.
One critic said the show portrayed the flight attendants’ lifestyle as scary and saucy.
