A Taiwanese airline has apologised after requesting paperwork related to a sick leave application from a deceased employee, triggering outrage in the country.
An Eva Air flight attendant, surnamed Sun, died on 10 October, days after falling ill during a flight from Milan to Taoyuan, Taiwan. The 34-year-old flight attendant was admitted to hospital after her condition worsened and later died.
An Eva Air representative reportedly sent a message to Sun’s phone on the day of her funeral, asking her to submit documents proving that she requested sick leave in late September, her family said.
The family said they sent a copy of Sun's death certificate.
Eva Air said it was “deeply saddened” by her death and offered its “deepest apologies” to her family, saying the incident occurred because a staff member was “insufficiently familiar with their work duties”.
Taiwanese authorities and the airline have launched an investigation into her death to determine whether she was denied medical help or discouraged from taking leave. Sun, who joined the airline in 2016, fell ill on 24 September during a flight to Eva Air’s base in Taoyuan City and sought treatment at a nearby clinic before returning home.
She was admitted to Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital on 26 September and was later transferred to China Medical University Hospital in Taichung on 8 October when her condition deteriorated. She died two days later.
In a press conference on Friday, Eva Air president Sun Chia-Ming said "the departure of Ms Sun is the pain in our hearts forever".
"We will carry out the investigation [into her death] with the most responsible attitude," he said.
The case sparked anger in Taiwan after an online post by one of her colleagues revealed the airline’s request and alleged that staff were overworked.
An anonymous user claiming to be a cabin crew member wrote: “This was not some regrettable coincidence, but the result of systemic and long-term indifference to crew members’ health.”
Her death has prompted protests, with cabin crew union members demanding reforms to leave policies.
The incident has also put a spotlight on the working conditions of aircrew and the airline’s system of evaluating employees’ performance based on their use of personal or sick leave.
Several union members have protested outside the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.”
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