UNITED KINGDOM: Virgin Probes Chinese Passenger Racial Abuse Case

Virgin Atlantic airlines has confirmed it's investigating claims of alleged racial abuse towards a Chinese female passenger.

The airline said the company will not "comment further until we have resolved the issue with our customer directly."

In a statement by spokesman Jason Betts, Virgin Atlantic said, "We are aware of an issue on a recent flight and would like to reassure the customer that we are taking her claims seriously and are fully investigating the circumstances. The safety and wellbeing of our passengers is always our priority, and we will continue to speak directly with the customer to ensure the situation is resolved."

In a later statement, provided by spokeswoman Louise Holding, Virgin Atlantic said, "we are aware of the concern around the alleged incident on flight VS250.We are a multinational company with zero tolerance of racism."

The carrier declined to provide any further details, adding "this is an ongoing investigation."

The report, about the Chinese female passenger, on the Virgin flight VS250 on March 1, 2016, who said she was insulted by a Caucasian male passenger and subsequently allegedly ignored by a flight attendant, went viral on social media in China.

According to the post, a Caucasian man started swearing at the Chinese passenger without provocation and then threatened other passengers after they tried to stop his abusive behavior.

The Chinese passenger also claims that a flight attendant knowingly ignored the incident. The cabin crew member allegedly made reference to, what they described as, the offender's 'mental problem', but still allowed him to stay among other passengers. The attendant reportedly threatened to remove the Chinese passenger if she spoke of the incident again.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said they had started an investigation, and had made contact with the Chinese passenger involved, but had refused to give any further details.

The Chinese passenger confirmed that she had received an email from Virgin, but described it as a "template" message, rather than an actual apology.