An air hostess who posted a picture of herself giving her passengers
the finger has been sacked by Aeroflot airline bosses in Russia after it
ended up on Twitter.
Flight attendant Tatiana Kozlenko put the snap up on her personal
page on Vkontakte, one of Russia’s most popular Facebook-style social
networks.
Within hours the snap – which appears to show the arm of an air
hostess giving the finger to an airplane cabin full of passengers – had
clocked up dozens of ‘likes’.
Sacked: Air hostess Tatiana Kozlenko, pictured left, has been fired
by Russian airline Aeroflot after posting a picture online that appears
to show a flight attendant giving the finger to a cabin full of
passengers, right
But the image then went viral after it was posted on Twitter and reTweeted by hundreds of users.
Aeroflot airline bosses soon found out about the photo and fired Ms Kozlenko.
Aeroflot – who announced the sacking on their Twitter account –
said: ‘Posting this photo shows Tatiana’s attitude towards passengers
and her duties. She acknowledged her fault when she spoke to her
managers.’
But Ms Kozlenko claims it isn’t her arm in the snap – or even one of her her airline’s planes.
She admitted that she tagged herself in the photo, which doesn’t show anyone’s face – but claims it isn’t her.
‘I don’t consider myself guilty! The photo was added to my page, I
only tagged myself on it!!! The hand isn’t mine, the plane is not my
company’s!!! I don’t understand what they spoil my life for!!! I’m
asking you for help and support!!’ she said on her Vkontakte page.
Axed: Aeroflot bosses fired Ms Kozlenko after the image went viral on the internet (stock image)
Ms Kozlenko is not the first to get in trouble over making the gesture.
Teenager Penelope Soto was jailed for thirty days after sticking her finger up at a judge during sentencing yesterday.
Soto – who was in court after being arrested for drug possession –
made the gesture after Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat
doubled the amount of her bond.
As a result she was hauled back in front of the judge and given a jail sentence for contempt of court.
Another woman was forced to apologise after an image of her flashing
her middle finger at Arlington National Cemetery sparked widespread
disgust across the web and prompted an online petition to get the woman
fired from her job.
Lindsey Stone posted the picture of herself making the obscene
gesture at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, next to a sign at the
military cemetery that asks for ‘Silence and Respect,’ in October and
the snapshot quickly went viral.
Stone issued an apology for the picture calling her gesture a ‘visual
pun’ and saying she now realizes the picture ‘was in incredibly poor
taste’.
Punishment:
Penelope Soto was in court after being arrested for drug possession
when she made the offensive gesture to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge
Rodriguez-Chomat as he set her bond
Shocking: Lindsey Stone flashed the obscene gesture at Arlington National Cemetery, next to a sign that asked for respect