Employees sacked over Facebook posts

LONDON: Virgin Atlantic said it has sacked 13 of its cabin staff after they criticised the airline and some of its passengers on social networking website Facebook.

The airline, controlled by Richard Branson's Virgin group, said yesterday the staff's behaviour was "totally inappropriate" and "brought the company into disrepute".

The action follows an investigation into the remarks posted on Facebook, which concerned planes flying from London's Gatwick airport and insulted passengers, as well as reportedly saying the planes were full of cockroaches.

"Virgin Atlantic can confirm that 13 members of its cabin crew will be leaving the company after breaking staff policies due to totally inappropriate behaviour," the airline said in a statement.

"Following a thorough investigation, it was found that all 13 staff participated in a discussion on the networking site Facebook, which brought the company into disrepute and insulted some of our passengers."

It said cabin staff who held such views could not uphold the expected standard of customer service.

"There is a time and a place for Facebook. But there is no justification for it to be used as a sounding board for staff of any company to criticise the very passengers who ultimately pay their salaries," a spokesman said.

Facebook allows users to share photographs, videos and personal information through online individual profiles and groups. It claims to have 110 million users worldwide.