Airline exec rant sparks outrage

There's a nasty atmosphere in the air in South Korea.

Reports that the daughter of Korean Airlines chairman had a plane on which she was a passenger sent back to the boarding gate to expel a member of staff.

Heather Cho, seen here in file pictures, was reportedly upset that a flight attendant had served her nuts in a bag, not in a dish.

Cho is a vice-president with the airline, responsible for in-flight service.

But the reports have unleashed disapproval across South Korea.

(SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SONG JI-HYUN, SOUTH KOREAN RESIDENT, SAYING:

"Returning a plan to the gate is only possible when there is something very important that happened. Therefore the vice-president was wrong to order the plane to return because of her personal feelings against the service, which followed protocol."

The airline has issued an apology for the incident.

It confirmed the vice-president involved was Cho.

A company official said on Tuesday she had resign