Union angered at EVA Air's reluctance to address flight attendant's death

Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) Union members on Friday criticized EVA Air's reluctance to address a "flawed culture" following the death of a flight attendant who fell ill during a long-haul flight from Milan to Taiwan.

"Seven days have passed since Sun's death, yet we have not received any apologies or explanations from EVA Air," Chao Chieh-huan (趙婕歡), a member of Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union's board, told reporters outside EVA Air's headquarters.

Another union member pointed to EVA Air's policy of allowing crew who do not take sick days to arrange their flight schedules first, saying that "you're essentially penalized for taking medical leave."

The union member further accused the airline's management of lying when it claimed that flight attendants face no punitive measures for taking medical leave without submitting supporting documents.

"If there were no punishments, why did they urge the deceased's family to provide those documents right after her funeral?"

Earlier, the union had issued a statement calling on EVA Air to properly address the issue or face protests at the 2025 EVA Air Marathon in Taipei on Oct. 26.

The union members were speaking following a news conference by EVA executives, the first since the death of the 34-year-old flight attendant, surnamed Sun (孫), on Oct. 10.

At the press event, EVA Air President Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) said the airline had launched an investigation and begun strengthening mechanisms for health reporting, review and work coordination.

"We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees," he said.

The executives departed the news conference without answering a reporter's question regarding an EVA Air employee messaging Sun asking her to submit leave application documents after she died.