Virgin Atlantic has sacked 13 flight attendants for criticising the airline's flight safety standards. Those who were sacked had also reportedly described its passengers as "chavs" on Facebook.

Published: 04 Nov 2008

Virgin Atlantic has sacked 13 flight attendants for criticising the airline's flight safety standards. Those who were sacked had also reportedly described its passengers as "chavs" on Facebook.

The airline said the staff's behaviour was "totally inappropriate", and had brought the company into disrepute.

The online messages reportedly claimed that the airline's jet engines were replaced four times in one year and that 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.

A spokesman said there was no justification for using Facebook to criticise passengers who ultimately paid staff salaries.

Virgin Atlantic launched its investigation last Thursday after the messages were posted by members of the Facebook group, which has now been removed, about flights from Gatwick.

A spokesman for the airline said: "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 pay their salaries. We have numerous internal channels for our staff to feed back legitimate and appropriate issues relating to the company."