Hong Kong Airlines crew focus during their kung fu master-class. Photo: Sam Tsang, South China Morning Post
A Hong Kong airline is helping cabin crew tackle unruly in-flight behaviour, by making kung fu lessons a compulsory part of their training.
International carrier, Hong Kong Airlines has insisted that all cabin crew take classes in “Wing Chun” - a form of kung fu used as self-defence in close combat situations.
Former well-known practitioners of Wing Chun include Bruce Lee and Yip Man.
By taking cabin crew training up a notch, the airline hopes that staff will be better prepared to handle potential security threats at 30,000ft.
The airline says it deals with around three incidents a week of passengers being disruptive on flights.
New cabin crew recruit Lumpy Tang, 22 said she never imagined kung fu would be part of the job: “We were surprised in the beginning, but after a few lessons we really liked wing chun,” Tang told the China South Morning Post.
“You cannot predict what will happen on the plane, so wing chun is good because it’s so fast.
“I feel safer because I can defend myself and I’m really happy to be one of the first cabin crew to learn wing chun in the world.”
Wing chun instructor, Katherine Cheung said the training is ideal for cabin crew.
“Wing chun can be used in small, confined spaces so it’s suited for an airplane,” Cheung said. “It’s easy to learn, but difficult to master.”
Talking point: A sign of the times or a PR exercise? Should martial arts be a compulsory part of training for today’s generation cabin crew? We’d love to hear your thoughts – please comment below.
